The 20-year-old player who made his debut for the Cheetahs in 2020 has been out of action with a serious knee injury since representing SA U20 in Stellenbosch in June last year.

While the former schoolboy prodigy will in all likelihood miss out on the rest of the Currie Cup, he has been given the green light to start running again.

Cronjé told OFM Sport that it’s still a long road, but he is happy to be active again.

“I got the green light to start running again and that was quite nice to hear.

“I'm still not training with the team as I still have to get fit and go through the whole return-to-play protocol.

“It will take a while to get back to where I should be in order to train with the guys.

“For me, this is a great win because being out for so long is tough and the small wins mean a lot. It's because it means that I'm getting closer to getting back to playing.

“It's tough struggling with the knee, but it will eventually be fine and I can play again.

“I just have to be patient and make the best of my situation. When I get back on the training field, I must just give it my all to try and play again.”

Cronjé is a former captain of the SA Schools team and the Junior Springboks.

Morgan Piek/OFM Sport