Publications
Partners
Pretoria - Bulls flank Roelof Smit has been ruled out for the remainder of the Super Rugby season with a knee injury, the franchise has confirmed.
The 25-year-old picked up the knock in Saturday's 38-28 loss to the Brumbies at Loftus, and the news coming out of the camp on Monday was not good.
"Roelof Smit injured his right knee. Scans confirmed a Grade 3 complete tear of his ligament, so he will be on the sidelines for at least 10-12 weeks. We will consult with a specialist later this week," said team doctor Herman Rossouw.
It is the latest dose of bad luck that Smit has had since forcing his way into the Bok squad at the end of 2016.
He played less than 10 minutes of rugby last year thanks to both a torn pectoral muscle and torn MCL, and 2018 was supposed to be a fresh start for him.
But, just hours before Rassie Erasmus named his first Springbok squad of the year, Smit was injured again.
It doesn't end there for the Bulls.
"Marco van Staden, in the last minute of the game, injured his knee and ankle. Luckily scans confirmed that it was only his ankle that was sprained quite badly," Rossouw explained.
"Things are looking quite good for him to get back by the end of the June break."
The good news is that the rehab processes of Hanro Liebenberg, Ruan Steenkamp and Jannes Kirsten are all nearing completion and all three are expected to be available when Super Rugby resumes at the end of June.
The Bulls, who are currently rock-bottom of the South African Conference and 11th in the Overall log having won only 5 of their 13 matches to date, will play the Sunwolves (Saturday, June 30 in Singapore), the Jaguares (Saturday, July 7 in Pretoria) and the Lions (Saturday, July 14 in Johannesburg) in their final three matches.
