Pienaar injured his MCL during the 19-17 win over the Bulls on Friday evening in round two of Super Rugby Unlocked.

It would appear that the injury is not as serious as initially thought.

Pienaar told OFM Sport that getting injured was not ideal, but he feels that he could be back soon.

“It was a great win for us against the Bulls team and we are obviously chuffed with that. There is still a long way to go and there is still a lot of work left to do.

“It was disappointing to pick up an injury, especially after waiting for such a long time to get back onto the field.

“It is sort of good news that it’s not that bad. I had an initial feeling that it might be my MCL. I’ve done it before against the All Blacks in Wellington. It felt similar and I knew that it was only going to be my MCL.

“Hopefully I will still be able to take part before the end of the season. I will have to work hard now in getting the knee strong again and then going through my rehab. Hopefully, that will go well and I can get back as soon as I can. It’s good that it’s not a long-term injury.

“It will take a good few weeks, but I am looking forward to getting back.”

In the meantime, Junior Pokomela, will take over the captaincy in the absence of Pienaar.

This week the Cheetahs travel for their first away game when they tackle the Lions on Saturday afternoon at Ellis Park.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport