While Edinburgh are set to bring back British and Irish Lion and Pretoria old boy Duhan van der Merwe to strengthen their squad ahead of Saturday’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarterfinal clash against the Vodacom Bulls, his opposite number is set to keep the Scottish side guessing.
White isn’t fond of releasing injury updates to the squad and, especially when it gets to the business end of the competition, prefers to keep his cards close to his chest, and this weekend’s clash at Loftus Versfeld won’t be any different.
There are a number of players that are on the brink of returning to action but we will only know who will be available for the playoffs and who won’t when the team is announced on Friday.
Chief among these are the fortunes of the playmaker Johan Goosen, who limped off with a knee injury in the game against Cardiff and it was initially thought the injury could be career-threatening, with White clearly emotional after the game about it.
GOOD NEWS FOR GOOSEN
But a few days later and White had changed his tune, and believed that the flyhalf may well be back sooner than expected, and perhaps even for the playoffs, although he wasn’t being more specific than that.
“He had a procedure with Daan du Plessis and Wim Hiddema,” White said ahead of the Bulls last game against the Dragons. Both are respected orthopaedic surgeons who often operate on rugby players with similar injuries.
“It went well .There is no timeframe for his return. They are confident that if everything goes well, we could have him back before the end of the season. That is great news, considering that when he was injured, everyone thought it might be career-ending.
“I don’t want to say he will be available next week or the following week. But, it isn’t as bad as we initially thought when he was carried off .”
After the Dragons game there was also concern about Bulls lock Cobus Wiese, who has been one of the signings of the URC season and is a big cog in the Bulls pack.
While Wiese limped off the field, White revealed after the game it was a precaution, and that Wiese should be fine for this weekend’s game.
“He’s got a back spasm. Apparently, he got it in the warm-up. I told him if he gets a back spasm and scores 40 metre tries he can do it every weekend,” White laugheid.
“Again it’s precautionary. When he said his back was a bit sore, I didn’t want a guy to get something else like tearing a hamstring etc, so I took him off. The doctor reckons he’ll be fine if he does the right treatments for the next two weeks.”
ALL EYES ON STEENEKAMP AND PAPIER
But there are others that are also set to return. Gerhard Steenekamp, the Springbok prop has been struggling after a knee procedure left him with an infection, but it is hoped that he would be ready before the playoffs while scrumhalf Embrose Papier hasn’t been seen for a while after taking a knock and missed the last two games.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if both of them returned for the quarterfinals, but even if they don’t the Bulls have been doing well without them.
Any boost they receive will be welcomed, of course, but with Jan-Hendrik Wessels being one of the players of the season, Steenekamp can be eased back into action while Zak Burger has done well as back-up to Papier.
For Goosen, Keagan Johannes has stepped into the fray well and played a key role at 10 while the recent return of Willie le Roux and Canan Moodie at the back has also strengthened the backline.
The only player the Bulls probably would have liked to have back was Kurt-Lee Arendse, who has been on a sabbatical, playing in Japan and didn’t return in time for registration for the playoff rounds.