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Strauss boost for Lions

Cape Town - Lions captain Josh Strauss will be ready for their trans-Jukskei derby clash against the Bulls in Johannesburg on Saturday.

According to the Beeld newspaper, the eightman's back injury was not deemed serious enough to rule him out.

Strauss injured his back against the Cheetahs last week, a game the men from Johannesburg lost 26-5 to suffer their fifth straight defeat, which keeps them rooted at the bottom of the Combined Super Rugby log.

But there was also some bad news for the injury-plagued Lions, with young lock Paul Willemse ruled out for a few weeks due to a shoulder injury. The burly 19-year-old was impressive in his Super Rugby debut against the Cheetahs.

A groin injury also rules scrumhalf Michael Bondesio out for the second time this year.

The Lions have now used 33 players in six Super Rugby games this year. To put that into perspective: The Bulls used only 29 players through the whole of the 2011 season.

The Lions' clash against the Bulls kicks off at 19:10 on Saturday.

The number of players used this year by SA teams after seven rounds of Super Rugby:

Lions (33); Cheetahs (28); Sharks (28); Stormers, Bulls (27).
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