Kings left licking injury wounds after Benetton loss

Cape Town - There was some bad news for the Southern Kings on the medical front in the wake of their 31-3 PRO14 Championship defeat against Benetton Rugby in Treviso.

Team doctor Clement Plaatjies reported that he had two major concerns involving wing Sibusiso Sithole and fullback Masixole Banda but that the full extent of their injuries would only be known after further examination and X-rays which would be done once the team arrived back in South Africa.

“Sithole appears to have ruptured a patella tendon in his knee. I will be able to confirm the extent of the injury upon further investigation once we are back in PE but at this stage the diagnosis is pretty clear-cut and he may well require surgery,” said Dr Plaatjies. Sithole injured himself whilst competing for a high ball against Benetton and was forced to leave the field as a result.

“Masixole Banda has what looks to be a rather serious injury to his shoulder. It is either a clavicle fracture or a ruptured ACJ ligament. Again, I’ll only be able to confirm after we’ve taken X-rays but either way it will, unfortunately, keep him out of action for quite a while,” Dr Plaatjies said.

Dr Plaatjies also reported that prop Schalk Ferreira, who spent some time in the blood bin during the game, had needed some stitches to a cut on his forehead but was otherwise fine.

Following another tough mini-tour of Europe, the Southern Kings players can now look forward to a few weeks of recovery before their next PRO14 Championship clash which will be against the undefeated Glasgow Warriors in Scotland on Friday, October 27.

Kick off at 19:35 local time.