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Jean's recovery on track - Coetzee

Cape Town - Springbok captain Jean de Villiers’s recovery process is going well, Stormers coach Allister Coetzee says.

De Villiers is currently undergoing intensive rehabilitation and is in a race against time to prove his fitness for the Rugby World Cup in England and Wales later this year.

He suffered a horrific knee injury in the Springboks’ final Test against Wales in Cardiff late last year.

De Villiers popped in at the Stormers’ training session at their High Performance Centre in Bellville on Monday.

When asked about De Villiers’s rehabilitation, coach Allister Coetzee told Netwerk24: “He is making good progress. His target for a return to contact training is a week after the Super Rugby final (July 4). He could possibly also be ready to play by then.”

In an interview earlier this month, De Villiers hinted that he might be making a return to action in club rugby.

“The problem is that there won’t be a lot of rugby on the go at that time, because the Currie Cup would not have started and I’ll probably have to make my return in club games,” he said.

The 34-year-old made his Test debut against France in Marseille in 2002 and has since represented the Springboks in 106 Tests.

He became Bok captain in 2012.

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