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According to Stormers coach Allister Coetzee, the veteran lock went over on his shoulder at a practice session at the High Performance Centre in Bellville on Tuesday afternoon.
Van Zyl has been ruled out of rugby for five to six weeks, which means he won't be considered for the opening Super Rugby match against the Lions at Newlands on 26 February.
The good news, of course, is that the loss of Van Zyl is not quite as big a blow as it might have been had it happened during the last Currie Cup season.
With Andries Bekker back in training and looking supremely fit and confident after missing out on the second half of the 2010 season, Van Zyl would probably not have featured in the starting side for the Lions match anyway.
However, Van Zyl is an important member of the Stormers squad, as he is a key part of the leadership group, and his absence will be felt as the Stormers complete their preparation phase to the new season.
It will be recalled that Van Zyl ended 2010 by playing a major part in the Barbarians win over the Springboks at Twickenham in December, delivering a performance that earned him the man of the match award.
The other big player to have suffered misfortune in the preparation phase to the new season is Springbok Francois Louw, who pulled up with a grade one hamstring tear a couple of weeks ago. It is touch and go whether Louw will be back in time to be considered for the Lions game.
In Louw's absence, Rynhardt Elstadt is being given an opportunity to show his potential as a ball carrying blindside flank, with skipper Schalk Burger reverting to a more specialised fetching role while Louw is not playing.
Meanwhile, although he was not considered for the match against the Lions that begins the Neo Africa Tri-Series on Friday night, Jaque Fourie continues to make good progress as he comes back from the injury that kept him out of the knock-out phase of the 2010 Currie Cup season as well as the subsequent end of year tour.
Coetzee remains confident that Fourie will be ready for the tournament opener.
In the meantime, Juan de Jongh will be wearing the No 13 jersey alongside Jean de Villiers, in an all Bok midfield combination against the Lions in the Neo Africa game at Newlands in two day's time.
