South Africa’s World Cup hopes were dealt a devastating blow after star flanker Joe van Niekerk was ruled out of the rest of the tournament with a serious knee injury.
Van Niekerk suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the Springboks 60-10 victory over Samoa on Saturday and will play no further part in the competition, a South African team statement said.
The 23-year-old back row player is due to return to South Africa shortly where he will see a specialist and undergo an operation.
Van Niekerk is likely to be out for up to six months. Van Niekerk’s loss is a massive setback to South Africa’s World Cup hopes.
The Springboks face a probably quarter-final against New Zealand in Melbourne on Saturday and van Niekerk is the star of a powerful back-row which is the outstanding feature of South Africa’s team.
Team management will make an announcement on a possible replacement at a later stage, the statement said. – Sapa-AFP