This comes Janse van Rensburg was suspended for two weeks following his 20-minute red card against the Bulls.

The player was shown a yellow card in the 67th minute of the Cheetahs’ thrilling 62-52 win at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday for a dangerous high tackle. The sanction was subsequently upgraded to a 20-minute red card.

Even before the clash against the Bulls, the Cheetahs’ hooking department was under pressure, with former Junior Springbok Juan Smal the only other fit specialist No 2 in the squad.

Marko Janse van Rensburg - Morgan Piek

Chucky van der Westhuizen has missed the entire Currie Cup campaign with an ankle injury, while UFS Shimlas hooker Vice Hofmeyr is sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Tighthead prop Frankie Dos Reis could have been an option at hooker, having played in the position for the Shimlas until last year. However, he was listed with a knee injury last week.

That could open the door for youngster Stefan Venter to make his Cheetahs debut this week, provided he is fit and gets the nod from coach Frans Steyn.

Steyn admitted that the Cheetahs are under some pressure when it comes to their hooking options, with Janse van Rensburg unavailable, and hinted that the youngsters may have to be thrown into the deep end.

“He is suspended for two games, and of course it’s a big disappointment for us, especially with Chucky also on the injury list,” said Steyn.

“That said, Juan Smal is playing excellent rugby at the moment. He is an incredible person. You only have to tell him once what you want him to do, and he will do it straight away. He is an incredible team player.

“However, we are a little bit in a tight spot when it comes to options for a replacement, and another one of the juniors, Vice, is also injured. But we’ll come up with a plan and hopefully our plan works.”

Juan Smal is currently the only fit hooker in the squad - Morgan Piek

The injury concerns do not end there ahead of the clash against Boland, with Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk having missed the win over the Bulls with a shoulder injury.

Rewan Kruger stepped up in De Klerk’s absence and produced an excellent performance, although the momentum of the game appeared to shift when he was replaced.

With the Boland Cavaliers next on the agenda — a fixture that carries a bit of personal history for Steyn — the Cheetahs coach was keeping his cards close to his chest when asked about De Klerk’s availability.

He did, however, reveal that the veteran scrumhalf is managing an old shoulder problem.

Faf de Klerk missed the Bulls game because of a shoulder niggle - Morgan Piek

“Faf is carrying an old shoulder injury, but we’ll wait and see, as we had to focus on a few other things in the camp.

“However, I’m not someone who will use injuries as an excuse, because it gives someone else an opportunity to put their hand up.”

The Cheetahs went into the Bulls clash with a lengthy injury list, with 16 players unavailable, and another one or two could potentially be added ahead of Sunday’s encounter.

Rewan Kruger - Morgan Piek

Pierre Uys, Gideon van der Merwe, Munier Hartzenberg, Clayton Blommetjies, Juan Venter and Carl Wegner are among those currently on the injury list.

There is a possibility that one or two players could return against the Cavaliers, but that will only become clearer as the week progresses.

Sunday’s clash against Boland at the Toyota Stadium kicks off at 15:00.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport