/ 27 July 2009

Pienaar, De Villiers expected to be fit for Boks

Ruan Pienaar and Jean de Villiers should be back for South Africa’s Tri-Nations match against New Zealand on Saturday after injury scares, team doctor Craig Roberts said on Monday.

Both men left the field during their team’s 28-19 win over New Zealand in Bloemfontein last Saturday. Flyhalf Pienaar suffered a sprained ankle while inside centre De Villiers looked to have sustained a serious leg injury.

Roberts said De Villiers had simply been suffering from cramp. He said Pienaar should recover for the game in Durban, though coach Peter de Villiers was more cautious.

”Ruan rolled his ankle in a tackle just before half-time. We had the opportunity to asses him properly at half-time and we decided it was better to pull him then rather than risk further injury,” Roberts told a news conference.

”[Pienaar] has a grade-one ankle sprain [but] he did some straight-line running today [Monday] and we are optimistic that he will be ready for this week’s game.” Roberts added.

Coach De Villiers said he was anxious to protect Pienaar for the rest of the series.

”Ruan is a guy you can build a side around, and because of his injury on the weekend we may need to manage him better to get him through the next five games,” he said.

”I will take my cue from the doctor because although Ruan was running in a straight line, rugby is about more than that. To put him on the field if he is not 100% fit can damage a player’s future.

”We want to make sure we do the best thing for ourselves and the player.” — Reuters