Rugby
Concerns over De Villiers' future─── 09:25 Mon, 01 Dec 2014
The Springbok captain, Jean de Villiers may not recover in time for next years’ Rugby World Cup in England which kicks-off in September.
The centre dislocated his knee cap during their disappointing 12-6 loss to Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.
It since been confirmed that De Villiers has sustained significant ligament damage and also has a torn hamstring.
“The scans revealed significant ligament damage to the inside of his knee and the supporting muscles,” said Springbok team doctor Craig Roberts.
“Jean will return to South Africa and see an orthopaedic specialist in Cape Town early in the week. He has had previous surgery on this knee and the further management of the injury is dependent upon the specialist’s recommendations.”
Coach Heyneke Meyer in his turn said it was disappointing wrapping up their end-of-year-tour in the way they did, however conceded that losing his veteran captain was much more of a concern.
“When we lost Jean (de Villiers) with more than 20 minutes to go, we had to play with a lot of inexperienced players at the end, especially in the backline.
“Losing Jean and the yellow card to Cornal Hendricks shortly thereafter were massive in the context of the game. We were forced to go from an attacking game in the final 20 minutes, where we’ve been strong in the past, to a defensive mode
De Villiers will see a specialist in Cape Town to discuss his options, however at this stage there are fears in the Bok camp that the player may miss World Rugby’s flagship event and it may very well also be the end of his career.
Last week before his injury Springbok coach, Heyneke Meyer stated that De Villiers was the only one of his players assured of playing in the World Cup.
Morgan Piek / OFM Sport
