Cape Town - The Springboks are confident that captain and lock Eben Etzebeth will be fit to lead the side in their European tour opener against Ireland in Dublin next Saturday.
Etzebeth injured his ankle during a recent Springbok assessment camp in Cape Town.
An MRI scan revealed a low grade ligament injury which forced the Bok skipper’s ankle to be put in a brace.
But he has since improved and is confident that he will face Ireland.
“The ankle’s much better and I’m set to join team training on Saturday (the Boks fly overseas in Sunday), but I’ll only take part in 50% of the training session. I’m likely to be back in full training in Ireland on Monday,” Etzebeth said at a press conference in Johannesburg on Thursday, as quoted by IOL.
Bok coach Allister Coetzee added: “I’m happy with the controlled session Eben has done - that is running in a straight line and some agility work. There’s progress and he is on track.”
Etzebeth is standing in as Springbok skipper for the injured Warren Whiteley.
After the Ireland match, the Boks also play Tests against France (Paris, November 18), Italy (Padova, November 25) and Wales (Cardiff, December 2).