Cape Town - Springbok Duane Vermeulen has ruled himself out of the upcoming Rugby Championship.
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The burly No 8 had originally been expected to play a limited role in this year's edition of the tournament, but following Saturday's Test against England at Newlands, Vermeulen confirmed his non-availability.
In fact, Vermeulen's rugby future remains uncertain after he parted ways with French club Toulon following the conclusion of last season.
Vermeulen is expected to link up with an unconfirmed Japanese club in the coming weeks, should he recover from the leg injury he sustained in the second half at Newlands as he manfully played on in the Boks' 25-10 losing cause.
While Vermeulen is very much still in coach Rassie Erasmus' 2019 Rugby World Cup plans, he'll be watching from the sidelines as the Boks start their Rugby Championship campaign against Argentina in Durban on Saturday, August 18.