South Africa
Du Preez faces six months out
ESPN Staff
July 3, 2014
South Africa will be without star scrum-half Fourie du Preez for the November Tests © Getty Images
Enlarge

South Africa have suffered a huge blow with the news Fourie du Preez is set for an even longer spell on the sidelines than first feared.

Du Preez will miss the rest of the year after surgeons who were operating on his ankle found the damage to be worse than originally diagnosed. Du Preez has had a screw inserted into his ankle and faces a six-month rehabilitation period.

That timeframe will see Du Preez miss the Springboks' Rugby Championship campaign and their end-of-year tour to the northern hemisphere.

"It's a very tough blow for me," Du Preez told Supersport. "I was very disappointed when I woke up from the operation and they told me, but that is the way it goes. It's a long tough road back and it will take some time, but I will remain positive."

Boks coach Heyneke Meyer added: "It's a massive blow to lose yet another world-class player and a key player due to an injury. Fourie is also a dynamic leader and one of the vice-captains in our team and his injury is a huge setback.

"Fourie has been brilliant since he returned to the Springboks last year and he will be missed. However, this provides an opportunity for other scrum-halves to prove themselves and make the step up when the opportunity arises."

The news means South Africa are without six players for the forthcoming Championship: Du Preez, Jaque Fourie (ankle), Pieter-Steph du Toit (knee), Arno Botha (knee), Pierre Spies (bicep) and Flip van der Merwe (knee).

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices