Suddenly all is not well in the Bulls and Blue Bulls camp with injuries causing some concern for the coaches of the two sides.
Blue Bulls’ lock, Fudge Mabeta, will miss the first part of the Vodacom Cup following the shoulder operation he had during the off-season — but there are also some Super 14 injury woes.
Bulls’ hooker Derick Kuün injured his calf muscle during a scrum session on Thursday morning at Loftus Versfeld, but the full extent of the injury will only be known after a scan.
Bulls team doctor Org Strauss said on Thursday afternoon that Kuün has probably torn his calf muscle, which means that the hard-working hooker will be on the sideline for two to three weeks.
Good news on the hooker front is that Springbok Chiliboy Ralepelle is back in full training after a rib niggle, while the third choice hooker, Bandise Maku, will make his comeback during the course of next week.
Maku injured his quadriceps during the off-season, but Strauss said he will be ready in less than a week’s time.
Heini Adams injured his hip flexor in training and Ruan Vermeulen was struggling with a hamstring, but they too are recovering well and will be fit for the first friendly against the Lions, which will be played in Johannesburg at Wits on January 24.
The rest of the Super 14 squad is doing fine and players injured last year such as Gurthrö Steenkamp (ankle) and Akona Ndungane (shins) started to train with their teammates during the week.
Mabeta’s Under-21 teammate, the South African Under-20 prop Corne Fourie, is struggling with a groin injury and will be out of action for another three to four weeks, while the flanker Pieter Meyer will in all probability miss the Vodacom Cup.
The Blue Bulls team doctor, Ewoudt van der Linde, confirmed that Mabeta injured his AC-joint and will be on the sideline for at least another two months.
Meyer captained the Vodacom Cup team in the first few rounds last year but a serious knee injury against the Boland Cavaliers ended his season. He is, however, making steady progress with his rehabilitation and hopes that he will be able to play before the winter.
”My knee is doing fine and I am getting stronger in the gym, but at the moment my hamstring is bothering me because they removed some of the muscles at the back of my leg in order to heal my knee. But my rehab is going well and I am optimistic that I will be able to play some time soon,” said Meyer.
The majority of the Vodacom Cup squad are still training with the Super 14 players, but as the Super 14 tournaments draw closer coach Nico Serfontein and his assistants, Denzil Frans and Ricardo Loubscher, will be able to get their side together to start preparing for another onslaught on the Vodacom Cup. – Sapa