The player who recently retired from international rugby had to undergo surgery to his back.

The player who also captains the Bulls at franchise level had been struggling with back niggle during the Springboks disastrous end-of-year tour to Europa.

The Bulls confirmed that there was a shift in the player’s lower pack and this put pressure on a nerve.

After seeing a specialist in Pretoria earlier this week it was decided to perform the procedure immediately to give the player the best chance of recovering in time for the Super Rugby.

In one final act as the Springbok captain, Strauss spoke the media on Monday upon their arrival back in South Africa and he said despite the woeful season he was still proud to have been able to lead the team.

“Of course it was not the best and of course it was the worst, I’m proud of a lot of things that I did,” said Strauss.

“In my first press conference, I said that I will put the Springboks first. I did that and I’m extremely proud of that.

“I did make a lot of mistakes, I don’t want to say a hell of a lot of mistakes, but I did make a lot of mistakes and I knew that I was going to do that.

“It was a learning curve for me as well and I’m proud of what I did and I tried.

“If I failed and where I failed, I apologise for that but I think I stood up in tough times.”

Furthermore, Strauss’ fellow Bulls hooker, Bandise Maku, announced his retirement from the sport on Thursday.

The retirement of the 30-year-old has put a lot of pressure on the Bulls in the hooking department for the upcoming season.

The Bulls tackle the Stormers away in the big North-South derby on 25 February when they open their campaign in Cape Town.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport