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Johannesburg - It was a dollop of good and bad news for Toyota Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské this week as he prepares for his side's Vodacom Super Rugby match against the MTN Lions at Coca-Cola park on Friday night.
While he welcomed back to fitness the duo of midfielder Barry Geel and Rayno Benjamin, who both have recovered from their injuries, Drotské had to contend with the headache of losing Frans Viljoen to a broken arm for the unforeseen future.
Viljoen injured himself in the victory over the Brumbies, and Drotské admitted he was frustrated by the constant injury woes his side has to face.
The Cheetahs will bring Kabamba Floors back onto the bench in Viljoen's place, but there aren't likely to be too many other changes to their side when they face fellow strugglers, the Lions.
Drotske was obviously buoyed by the victory over the Brumbies, and hoped that it would carry through when his side met the Lions in their derby game. The Lions won the first round fixture to record their only win of the season.
"Injuries continue to be a frustration to us," Drotske told SuperSport.com.
"But there is nothing we can do about that, we need to soldier on. This weekend the Lions will be a tough team to play as they are dangerous, and like us, probably should have won a lot more games than they did."
The Lions will tour after this game, so will be hoping for a victory to stop the long losing streak they currently face, while the Cheetahs will be hoping to continue the momentum they got from last weekend's performance.
Teams
Lions: 15 Michael Killian, 14 Lionel Mapoe, 13 Dylan des Fontain, 12 Doppies La Grange (capt), 11 Deon van Rensburg, 10 Burton Francis, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Joshua Strauss, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 5 David de Villiers, 4 Wikus van Heerden, 3 Kevin Buys, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Substitutes: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Patric Cilliers, 18 Franco Van der Merwe, 19 Michael Rhodes, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Elton Jantjies, 22 Jaco Taute.
Cheetahs:
TBA
