Cape Town - Lions captain Josh Strauss, who "popped" a rib in the game against Western Province at Newlands, should be ready to face the Sharks at Coca-Cola Park on Saturday.
Strauss left the field in their 26-28 defeat to WP, and it was initially feared he could be out for several weeks with a cracked rib.
However, it was confirmed on Monday that the bearded eightman only damaged cartilage on one of his rib's and not the rib itself.
A relieved Strauss posted on the social networking site Twitter on Monday night: "Hey peeps. Its only cartilage! Hopefully a very speedy recovery! Thanx 4 the tweets".
Lions coach John Mitchell also told the Beeld newspaper that Strauss should be ready to tackle the KwaZulu-Natalians in their top-of-the-table clash in Johannesburg.
The Lions could further be boosted with the return of loose forward Wicus van Heerden, who missed the clash at Newlands due to a shoulder injury.
The defeat to WP was the Lions' first loss of the Currie Cup season, but Mitchell believes they can take a lot out of the loss.
"There are always lessons to be learned from any game. This time we admit that the execution in our kicking let us down.
"We didn't work hard enough (on the field). Thus, there are valuable lessons to be learned," said Mitchell.
Strauss left the field in their 26-28 defeat to WP, and it was initially feared he could be out for several weeks with a cracked rib.
However, it was confirmed on Monday that the bearded eightman only damaged cartilage on one of his rib's and not the rib itself.
A relieved Strauss posted on the social networking site Twitter on Monday night: "Hey peeps. Its only cartilage! Hopefully a very speedy recovery! Thanx 4 the tweets".
Lions coach John Mitchell also told the Beeld newspaper that Strauss should be ready to tackle the KwaZulu-Natalians in their top-of-the-table clash in Johannesburg.
The Lions could further be boosted with the return of loose forward Wicus van Heerden, who missed the clash at Newlands due to a shoulder injury.
The defeat to WP was the Lions' first loss of the Currie Cup season, but Mitchell believes they can take a lot out of the loss.
"There are always lessons to be learned from any game. This time we admit that the execution in our kicking let us down.
"We didn't work hard enough (on the field). Thus, there are valuable lessons to be learned," said Mitchell.