Cape Town - SuperSport rugby commentator Ethienne Reynecke is showing continued signs of progress after suffering a stroke earlier this month.
The 36-year-old was rushed to a Durban hospital on August 9 and was in a critical condition after developing a blood clot on the brain.
He has since shown gradual improvement and started communicating and recognising family members late last week.
The former Lions hooker was also active on his social media accounts over the weekend and shared a picture of the brain scan which depicts the area of the stroke.
Reynecke described the stroke as "BIG", but added that doctors said he was doing "far better than expected".
Reynecke played mainly for the Lions in South Africa, but also had brief stints at Western Province and Free State.
He also played for Saracens in England, Connacht in Ireland and Pau in France.
After retiring from rugby, Reynecke turned his focus to mixed martial arts.
A lifelong WWE fan, in late 2017 Reynecke worked out at the WWE Performance Centre in Orlando, Florida.
In recent times, he has worked as an Afrikaans rugby commentator for SuperSport.