South Africa's Lood de Jager faces World Cup race after injury blow
Tuesday 5 March 2019 07:51, UK
South Africa lock Lood de Jager faces a race to be fit for the Rugby World Cup after he was ruled out for the rest of the Super Rugby season with a shoulder injury.
The Bulls captain was injured in his side's defeat to the Jaguares on February 23 but had initially expected to be missing for only a few weeks.
However, a visit to a specialist in Cape Town for a second opinion has confirmed surgery is needed and he will have surgery on Tuesday.
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The Bulls captain is now expected to be sidelined for the next four to five months, according to team doctor Herman Rossouw.
That would leave him with very little rugby under his belt in the build-up to the World Cup, providing a potential selection quandary for Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus, who does not have much international experience in the position.
Eben Etzebeth, who has had persistent injury problems in the last few seasons, is first choice when fit while Gloucester's Franco Mostert and De Jager's Bulls team-mate RG Snyman have also featured in recent campaigns.
Pieter-Steph du Toit is another option in the second row but prefers to play as a loose forward and is expected to fill that role at the World Cup, while his uncapped Stormers team-mate JD Schickerling toured with the Boks last November but did not play.
De Jager, 26, has 38 caps and played seven matches at the 2015 World Cup in England where South Africa they finished third.
