Cape Town - The Springboks have been dealt a further blow with lock Andries Bekker and hooker Tiaan Liebenberg set to miss their European tour.

News broke on Monday that the Western Province duo will miss their team's Currie Cup semi-final against the Golden Lions this weekend. Bekker injured his right toe in the first half of their victory over the Cheetahs at Newlands last week, while Liebenberg  injured his back in the same game.

While WP remain reluctant to state how serious the injuries are, the Beeld website was reliably informed that Bekker will be out for between six to eight weeks, with Liebenberg likely out for two or three months.

This will be a big blow for the Boks, after they also recently lost the services of prop Coenie Oosthuizen (back injury) and flyhalf Johan Goosen (knee).

The Springboks start their European tour against Ireland in Dublin on November 10, followed by Tests against Scotland in Edinburgh (November 17) and England in London (November 24).

The news will also affect WP negatively should they beat the Lions and progress to the Currie Cup final. De Kock Steenkamp and Scarra Ntubeni will replace the injured duo for Saturday's clash in Johannesburg.