/ 5 February 2010

Pretorious ruled out of Super 14

Former Springbok flyhalf Andre Pretorius will miss this season’s Super 14 series for Australia’s Western Force after sustaining a hamstring injury at training, Force officials said on Friday.

Pretorius, 31, who joined the Force this season as the club’s marquee player, felt pain in the back of his left leg during Wednesday’s session, a spokesperson said.

Follow-up scans and a consultation with a specialist on Friday revealed the severity of the injury and found the World Cup-winning Springbok had torn his left hamstring from the bone, the spokesperson said.

Officials said the injury will require surgical reattachment and an extended period on the sidelines, approximately three months, meaning he will not take part in the Western Force’s 2010 season.

“I’ve gone to work with the boys for so long now and it has been my best pre-season in many years,” Pretorius said in a statement.

“I’m really disappointed that I won’t be able to have the opportunity to represent the Western Force and play rugby with the new mates that I have made.

“Watching the video footage of the training session and seeing when the injury occurred it didn’t look like much at all. The physios at the club said it was a just a freakish type of injury.”

Pretorius said it was a bitter outcome after all the hard work he had put in to be fit for the new season, starting later this month.

“I still want to remain involved and offer any assistance I can to help make this a successful season for the Force,” Pretorius said.

Pretorius made the move to Western Australia after 69 Super Rugby caps with the Lions in South Africa.

Western Force said they will assess their options in relation to a replacement player and are in discussions with the Australian Rugby Union as domestic rules allow a club to recruit only one marquee player a season. — Sapa-AFP