Rugby
Injury concerns for Blitzbokke
2010-09-27 15:39
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Johannesburg - The Springbok Sevens team will assess the extent of injuries suffered by three players during the Platinum International Sevens tournament in Rustenburg at the weekend, where they took the honours after beating Zimbabwe in the final.
Boom Prinsloo suffered concussion, MJ Mentz sustained a shoulder injury and Chris Dry fractured a finger at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, and all three are in doubt for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India. The two-day Sevens programme at the quadrennial multi-sport event starts on October 11.
The South African sevens squad returned to Cape Town on Monday morning, but were given the day off from training, and all the players were set to assemble at their base camp in Stellenbosch on Tuesday morning for medical testing.
The team took part in two warm-up tournaments in Middelburg and Rustenburg in preparation for the Commonwealth Games.
Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu said he would be guided by medical opinion on whether the injured trio would be able to travel to Delhi on Sunday.
"We are already thin with our player resources after the injuries to Frankie Horne, Neil Powell, Kyle Brown and Branco du Preez," said Treu.
"Injuries are part of the game and we will have to deal with the latest setbacks.
"Apart from the injuries, I was very pleased with the performances of the youngsters and we will continue with our build-up for a couple of days this week in Stellenbosch before we leave for Dubai, where we will play a few warm-up matches against some of the local Arabian Gulf teams."