Durban — The Sharks are on their way to Italy to play Zebre on Friday night in the United Rugby Championship (URC) and you can be certain that Boeta Chamberlain will be wrapped in cotton wool for the journey.
The 23-year-old is the Sharks’ only fit flyhalf after misfortune twice struck their pre-season training, with Curwin Bosch and Lionel Cronje both suffering arm fractures and they will miss the first two months of the URC.
It is cruel luck for the Sharks, who play their first three games away — against Zebre, the Dragons in Wales and then Leinster in Dublin.
And the start to their tour is suddenly not the cushy one many would have expected after Zebre almost beat Leinster at the weekend. The Dubliners had to fight for their lives and just squeaked home 33-29.
Zebre have done some clever recruiting in the off-season and are hardly the pushovers they used to be. There seems to have been a shake-up in Italian rugby because Benetton also started off their season in a strong fashion and they smashed the Glasgow Warriors 33-11.
The Sharks warmed up nicely for the URC with successful hit-outs against the Lions and Stormers, winning 45-43 and 21-12 respectively, but they will be hoping that poor luck with injuries is over.
Apart from Bosch and Cronje, loose forwards Vincent Tshituka, Mpilo Gumede and Jeandre Labuschagne have all undergone individual shoulder surgeries and are all expected to return to play in the next four weeks.
Bosch suffered a hand fracture and will be out for 6-8 weeks while Lionel Cronje will be out for the same length of time with a forearm fracture.
Lukhanyo Am suffered a knee injury in the Springboks’ first Test clash against Australia last month and his meniscal repair is estimated to take 12-14 weeks.
Also out with a knee injury is wing Eduan Keyter whose ACL injury is expected to keep him out of action until November, while centre Murray Koster has undergone ankle surgery, with a likely return in four weeks.
The good news for Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi is that he is only expected to be out for a further three weeks while his knee ligament injury heals.
Flank Tinotenda Mavesere also suffered a knee ligament injury and his return to play is not yet confirmed, while the prognosis is not so good for lock Le Roux Roets who won’t be playing for the next nine months after sustaining an ACL (knee ligament) injury at training.
IOL Sport