Schalk Burger feels the force of the Hurricanes' defence © Getty Images

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Players/Officials: Schalk Burger | Andries Strauss | Jeremy Thrush

Tournaments/Tours: Super Rugby

Teams: Free State | Hurricanes | New Zealand | South Africa | Stormers

Stormers skipper Schalk Burger faces a spell of four to six weeks on the sidelines after sustaining an injury against the Hurricanes on Saturday.

The Springboks flanker limped off the field in the early part of the match with what looked to be a serious injury - with signs pointing towards a potential torn cruciate ligament.

But Stormers boss Allister Coetzee has alleviated concerns claiming that while there was damage to the ligament, he will be out for a shorter spell than previously feared. "Unfortunately we've lost the captain," Coetzee said. "He's torn his medial ligaments so he'll be out for four to six weeks.

And vice-captain Jean de Villiers said the squad's depth would now pay dividends. "It's definitely a big loss for us to lose our captain, also because of the way he plays for this team.

"But we believe that to fare well in this competition you need 35 to 40 players who can do the job for you. We believe we've got that and hopefully the player who replaces him can grab the opportunity and do the job for us."

In the same game, Hurricanes second-row Jeremy Thrush created history when he was given the first white card in the 2012 Super Rugby season. Thrush now faces an anxious wait to find out whether he will be cited or not.

And one man who has definitely been cited is the Cheetahs' Andries Strauss. A SANZAR statement read: "Andries Strauss is alleged to have contravened Law 10.4 (j) Lifting a player from the ground and dropping or driving that player into the ground.

"When he lifted Lions player Wikus van Heerden from the ground past the horizontal and drove him to the ground so that van Heerden's head made contact with the ground during the match between the Lions and Cheetahs at Coca Cola Park Johannesburg on 25/02/2012."