The Blitzboks will be up against it for the remainder of the World Sevens Series with the news that forward Kyle Brown will miss the rest of the season.
It was confirmed on Wednesday that Brown had torn his anterior cruciate ligaments in last weekend’s semifinal against New Zealand.
It is a huge blow as the veteran and former captain was one of the stars of the opening two rounds of the 2016-17 season‚ which SA lead after winning in Dubai and coming second in Cape Town.
Springbok Sevens doctor Leigh Gordon said Brown would undergo surgery on Thursday.
"Kyle will be operated on in Cape Town on Thursday and will not be able to play for between six to nine months."
A number of other injuries picked up in Cape Town were treated this week‚ but Gordon said none was serious.
"Philip Snyman [hand] and Ruhan Nel [hand] underwent scans‚ but the results showed they were only soft tissue injuries. They will be fit to resume training when the squad assembles again early in January‚" Gordon said.
World Player of the Year Seabelo Senatla sustained a quadriceps muscle injury‚ which ruled him out of the Cape Town final in which the Blitzboks lost 19-17 to England.
Senatla will be fit for the Blitzboks’ next assignment, which is the third round of the series in Wellington‚ New Zealand in late January.
Senatla will also play in the fourth round in Sydney a week later before leaving the sevens circuit to join the Stormers’ Super Rugby franchise as he sets his sights on making his mark at fifteens.
Squad members Carel du Preez‚ who strained a hamstring‚ and Tim Agaba‚ who injured his ankle during a warm-up tournament in November‚ are recovering well‚ as is Sandile Ngcobo (knee).
Their progress will be assessed once the squad reassemble in Stellenbosch in January.
TMG Digital
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