World Cup-winning No 8 Duane Vermeulen has missed first two Tests of British and Irish Lions series after undergoing ankle surgery in early June; watch deciding Test on Saturday, live on Sky Sports from 4pm
Sunday 1 August 2021 15:03, UK
Duane Vermeulen has re-joined the South Africa squad ahead of the series decider against the British and Irish Lions.
The World Cup-winning No 8 has missed the first two Tests of the series after undergoing ankle surgery in early June.
However, Vermeulen, 35, now appears to be in contention to feature in the final Test on August 7 in Cape Town, live on Sky Sports, after the Springboks levelled the series with a 27-9 victory on Saturday.
"Duane will join us on Sunday and will be medically assessed as soon as possible," said Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber.
"We will never risk a player who is not 100 per cent fit but he brings experience to the squad and it will be great to have him with us."
The 54-cap back-rower joined the Springboks training camp in Bloemfontein in June only to suffer an ankle issue.
Bulls head coach Jake White had cast doubt on Vermeulen's chances of taking on the Lions earlier this week, but he has now linked up with the Springboks on Sunday at their Cape Town base.
Flanker Pieter-Steph Du Toit sustained a shoulder problem during the first half of Saturday's second Test and his injury will be further assessed on Sunday.
Watch the deciding Test match of the British and Irish Lions series against South Africa exclusively live on Sky Sports; fans who don't have Sky will be able to catch all the action via streaming service NOW TV, which offers day and month passes.
