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Mind Games: Bionic man prepares for his big comeback

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If Springbok captain Jean de Villiers does make it to this year’s rugby World Cup, he’ll be forever remembered as the bionic man.

At a function in Johannesburg last week, which was hosted by SuperSport and described as a networking lunch, but which had the feel of an electioneering campaign, De Villiers sketched out his road to recovery.

He badly damaged a knee in November during a test against Wales in Cardiff and – given his bad luck with serious injuries – it seemed his career might be over.

The 34-year-old, who came across as charming, charismatic and with a self-deprecating sense of humour, revealed he has had six knee operations in trying to extend a career that now spans 106 tests.

Having been hurt within minutes of the start of his first test in Marseilles in 2002, the Bok skipper has become something of an expert in knee injuries.

He is able to rattle off the acronyms of the knee ligaments in what seems to be rugby’s most unstable and often damaged areas: the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), PCL (posterior cruciate ligament), MCL (medial collateral ligament) and so forth.

But while his brain has grasped the essentials, his body has run out of spare parts.

Usually, when ligament repairs are carried out, the surgeon scavenges tissue from elsewhere, such as the tendons anchoring the hamstring. But in De Villiers’ case, all these possible replacements had already been used.

He was therefore given artificial tendons to stabilise a wonky left knee.

De Villiers says he is “definitely on track” in terms of the path set out to get him to the World Cup in September. He says he is “close to sprinting” and feels he’ll be able to join team training by late June and play by July.

Springbok doctor Craig Roberts concurs. “We’re very happy with Jean’s progress. We’re taking it week by week, working very hard. There’s still enough time before the World Cup and we’re programming to get him a couple of matches so we can get him some game time and some confidence before the tournament.

“Jean’s running pretty hard, but it’s important, even with his experience, that he gets back some form, and to do that he’ll have to get back to playing,” he added.

And there’s the rub.

Regardless of De Villiers’ positive mind-set and good recuperation, making it to England in September is still a touch-and-go situation.

League play in Super Rugby ends on June 13, before De Villiers’ hoped-for comeback, and the play-offs will last until July 4.

That means, whether the Stormers go through or not – and Super Rugby is hardly the arena to stage a comeback from severe injury – there will be few fixtures available for De Villiers to test his knee.

The Springboks start their rugby championship campaign on July 18 in Brisbane, play the All Blacks at Ellis Park on July 28 and Argentina in Durban on August 8 – but he can hardly be expected to return in a test.

It is a scenario De Villiers has played out – saying he might have to play some club games, even if those have to be specially arranged.

He does, however, concede that the risk of another injury in a pick-up game is sometimes even greater than in a first-class outing.

And if he doesn’t make it?

That’s where SuperSport comes in. Graham Abrahams, SuperSport’s director of enterprises and regulatory affairs, assured De Villiers that the broadcaster was there for him.

De Villiers has joined the Let’s Play children’s programme.

If I understood Abrahams’ drift, De Villers will be at the World Cup – if not as the Bok captain, then as a SuperSport commentator.

Follow me on Twitter @retiefdan

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