Springbok prop Gerhard Steenekamp is back in training and should rejoin his Vodacom Bulls teammates in a couple of weeks after an injury setback prolonged his time on the sidelines.
Steenekamp underwent surgery to clean up cartilage in his knee, and complications meant that his recovery has been stunted for now.
But the Bok powerhouse loosehead is likely to be back in the playoffs and for the test matches in June, even though there is still some debate as to when he should return.
Coach Jake White said that Steenekamp is back in training but isn’t quite ready to return to match action yet.
“It sounds like a cliché - it is work in progress. He is back in training and he is working hard. It is now a question of how long it will take for him to be spot on and ready to play. And it isn’t going to get easier, because as we advance and go deeper in the season, it gets to knockout rugby and it becomes like a test,” White said.
“You can’t just bring him back and give him 20 or 30 minutes off the bench, because it could possibly be a knockout game where we will be playing against an international front row. So my answer to that is: As soon as he is ready and as soon as he is confident, then we can make a call, but at this point in time, he is doing everything that he can to make sure he can get back onto the field.”
White explained that there were some complications in his recovery that stopped him from returning sooner.
“He went for a cleanout on his knee and unfortunately there were complications. One of the wounds got a bit infected, and the infection got worse and worse. They then had to clean the wound and over time, because it was a knee injury, you can’t rush it.
“And because it was swollen and flared up, it restarted the process again. What was supposedly going to be an in-and-out operation turned out to be a much longer and more difficult situation for everyone.
“He is fine, everything is fine. It just put him back a bit because of the infection that didn’t go away over a period of time.”
'THE LIGHTS HAVE COME ON'
In his absence, new Bok Jan-Hendrik Wessels has impressed with some powerful scrumming performances, as well as all-round play that won him the man of the match award recently against Glasgow. Wessels seems to be getting better in every game, so much so that White has compared him to legendary Bok prop Os du Randt.
“He (Wessels) is loving playing with Wilco Louw on the other side of the scrum, and he is learning a lot. They talk scrumming now, and it was his birthday - he is now 24 - so he is growing up. I’ve always said he is a very talented rugby player and I think now he is realising that he has got talent and that he can do special things.
“I’m also looking forward to when Gerhard gets back, because it also means there is competition for a jersey and everybody in the front row, and he can play hooker as well. I’m not moving away from telling you guys I think he can be a phenomenal front row player anyway. But I’m obviously happy that the lights have come on.
“I’ve said it many times that I rate him highly and maybe that was the game (Glasgow) that he needed to realise that he can jump up to the next level. He was Os du Randt-like.
“I said that after the game, and I don’t say that lightly because Os to me is probably the best loosehead prop South Africa has ever had and probably one of the best the world has ever seen.
“So for me to make a comment comparing him to Os du Randt is something because I was lucky enough to coach Os. There are glimpses at times where I can see resemblances of how Os was when he was his (Jan-Hendrik’s) age.”
The Bulls will name their team for their final league fixture against Dragons on Friday.