RUGBY NEWS - The Springboks were dealt a massive blow on Tuesday when news that Bok flanker Jaco Kriel will miss six months of rugby and will need to undergo an operation was made public.
Kriel returned home from the Springboks’ away trip in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship last week after injuring his shoulder in Perth in the draw against Australia and underwent an examination that diagnosed a “severe shoulder injury” Kriel is set to miss six months of rugby after undergoing an operation on Tuesday.
“Springbok and Lions flanker Jaco Kriel sustained a severe shoulder injury in the Rugby Championship test against Australia in Perth on 9 September,” the Emirates Lions said in a release.
“As a result he will undergo an operation today (Tuesday) and is expected to return to play in six months.” This means Kriel misses the rest of the Rugby Championship as well as the end of year tour, and will probably only return in month two of next year’s Vodacom Super Rugby competition.
The news comes after news that the Boks will be without captain Warren Whiteley as well as props Frans Malherbe and Coenie Oosthuizen for the remainder of the Rugby Championship and will need in particular to find replacements for Kriel and Oosthuizen.
