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Spies back early next year

Cape Town - Springbok and Bulls No 8 Pierre Spies is expected to be back on the training field early next year.

Spies, 29, has been sidelined for most parts of the 2014 season due to a ruptured bicep, for which he was operated on in March.

The Bulls on Thursday released a wider training squad ahead of next year's Super Rugby competition and announced that Spies would be back on the training field on January 5, 2015.

Another Springbok loose forward, Arno Botha, who has missed the best part of the last two seasons with knee injuries, is also expected back on the field by January 5.

The Bulls will play one warm-up match next year, with the opponents for the match on January 24, 2015 to be confirmed.  The match is scheduled to be played in Polokwane.

The Blue Bulls XV will also play an invitational match against Saracens in London on January 31, 2015.

The Bulls training squad is:

Backs: Jesse Kriel, Duncan Matthews, Warrick Gelant, Jurgen Visser (Kriel, Gelant is with SA Sevens and Visser is injured and expected back on the field January 5, 2015), Akona Ndungane*, Travis Ismaiel, Bjorn Basson*, Jamba Ulengo, JJ Engelbrecht*, William Small-Smith, Dries Swanepoel (Engelbrecht with SA Sevens, Swanepoel injured and expected back on the field February 30, 2015), Jan Serfontein*, Ulrich Beyers, Dan Kriel, Burger Odendaal (Serfontein with Springboks, Odendaal injured and expected back on the field January 12, 2015), Handre Pollard*, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Tian Schoeman, Kobus Marais (Pollard with Springboks), Francois Hougaard*, Piet van Zyl*, Rudy Paige, Ivan van Zyl, Carlo Engelbrecht (Hougaard with Springboks)

Forwards: Pierre Spies* (Spies injured and expected back on the field January 5, 2015), Hanro Liebenberg, Arno Botha* (Botha injured and expected back on the field January 5, 2015), Jacques du Plessis, Nardus van der Walt, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, Jacques Engelbrecht, Deon Stegmann*, Lappies Labuschagne, Roelof Smit, Victor Matfield*, Grant Hattingh (Hattingh injured and expected back on the field January 5, 2015), Marvin Orie, RG Snyman, Flip van der Merwe* (Van der Merwe injured and expected back on the field January 5, 2015), Irne Herbst, Jason Jenkins, Werner Kruger*, Marcel van der Merwe*, Dayan van der Westhuizen, Hencus van Wyk, Basil Short. (Van der Merwe injured and expected back on the field December 1, 2014, Van Wyk injured and expected back on the field February 30, 2015), Adriaan Strauss*, Bandise Maku*, Callie Visagie, Jaco Visagie, Arno van Wyk. (Callie and Jaco Visagie injured and expected back on the field January 5, 2015), Dean Greyling*, Morne Mellett, Trevor Nyakane*, Pierre Schoeman

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