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Jean de Villiers' 'loose' knee breaks the internet!

Cape Town - Footage of former Springbok centre Jean de Villiers' "loose" knee has broken social media - but it's NOT for the squeamish!

De Villiers has a strong case for being the unluckiest player ever to don the green and gold jersey, with a series of knee, shoulder and jaw injuries blighting his 109-Test career.

De Villiers' Test debut in 2002 against France lasted seven minutes before he suffered a knee injury.

He then missed the 2003 Rugby World Cup having suffered a shoulder injury.

De Villers won the World Cup with South Africa in 2007 in France, although he tore a bicep muscle during their opening match of the tournament against Samoa and took no further part.

At the 2011 World Cup, De Villiers injured a rib in South Africa's opening match against Wales, but returned to play in the losing quarter-final against the Wallabies.

De Villiers captained South Africa during the 2015 World Cup, but fractured his jaw during the second match - also against Samoa - and was ruled out of the tournament.

De Villiers announced his retirement at the end of the 2015 season, having captained the Boks in 37 Tests, scoring 27 tries. He remains South Africa's most experienced centre with 94 caps.

Still just 38-years-old, De Villiers' rugby days are a thing of the past, preferring golf's fairways these days as he deals with a body that has taken its fair share of battering.

Playing in the SuperSport Shootout at Pearl Valley Golf Estate last weekend, thanks to another former Springbok skipper John Smit's Instagram account, De Villiers gave curious bystanders an up-close look of the current state of his left knee...

View this post on Instagram

Jean still in great condition even after 6 knee ops...

A post shared by John Smit (@johnsmitty1978) on

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