Cape Town - Springbok team doctor Craig Roberts was in Cape Town on Monday morning giving an injury update on the squad ahead of Saturday’s clash against the World XV at Newlands.
There was “good news and bad news”, said Roberts, with the worst news still that Duane Vermeulen will undergo surgery on Wednesday and is in a race against time to play any part in this year’s World Cup.
“It’s been a really hard training week in Johannesburg, but we’re happy with the way the guys came through,” Roberts said.
His injury report made reference to the following players:
SCHALK BURGER (groin)
“Schalk, whose coming back from a groin injury, is very close to playing. He hasn’t done a lot of agility running, we’re going to progress with that today (Monday). If he gets through that he should be available for the weekend.”
JAN SERFONTEIN (hip)
“Jan Serfontein is very close to playing as well. He’s also going to progress with training today and if he gets through he’ll be available for the weekend.”
LIONEL MAPOE (knee)
“We’re very happy with him. He’s had a full session so he’s cleared to play if the coach wants to select him.”
SCARRA NTUBENI AND FAF DE KLERK (ankle)
“Scarra (Ntubeni) and Faf (De Klerk) picked up mild ankle injuries in Joburg and they’ve been cleared. They trained this morning (Monday) without any problems.”
LOOD DE JAGER AND COBUS REINACH (elbow and hand)
“The real good news is that we’re really happy with Lood and his elbow so he’s available for selection as is Cobus Reinach with his hand fracture. He did all the training sessions last week.”
PAT LAMBIE (neck)
“As is Pat Lambie with his neck problem. He did flat out training last week, we’re really happy with him. They’re all available for selection.”
JEAN DE VILLIERS (knee)
“Jean de Villiers, we were really happy with his progress last week. The decision’s is obviously the coach’s if we’re going to select him this week.”
WILLEM ALBERTS (ankle and hamstring)
"He needs a lot of rehab around his ankles and his hamstring so we're not doing any team training with him. He's not available for selection this coming weekend. We'll take it week by week."
FOURIE DU PREEZ (MCL)
"He's going to start straight line running this week, a little but ahead of schedule. Depending on how he progresses we'll be able to make the call later in the month."
HEINRICH BRUSSOW (arm)
"Heinrich is another good one. He's available, he's doing full training although we'd probably like him to work a little bit more on his conditioning so it depends on the coach."
COENIE OOSTHUIZEN (neck)
"Obviously being a front row player it's a bit different than Duane's situation. The window is still open for him for the World Cup. He'll probably be able to ply one or two warm-up games before we announce the squad."