Boks suffer Du Plessis blow

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 14: Jannie du Plessis with JP Pietersen during the South African National rugby team photograph and captains run at Twickenham on November 14, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Haag/Gallo Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 14: Jannie du Plessis with JP Pietersen during the South African National rugby team photograph and captains run at Twickenham on November 14, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Haag/Gallo Images)

Published Nov 18, 2014

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Padova - South Africa received mixed injury news ahead of Saturday's Test against Italy with prop Jannie du Plessis ruled out but dynamic fullback Willie le Roux passed fit to play.

Du Plessis hyper-extended his knee and strained a hamstring in the Springboks' 31-28 victory over England last Saturday and his absence for the weekend was confirmed by team doctor Craig Roberts in a press release from South African Rugby Union (SARU).

“Fortunately Jannie's knee is fine but the scans confirmed our suspicion of a hamstring strain and he will not be able to play against Italy on Saturday,” said Roberts.

Le Roux, who injured his cheekbone against England, also went for scans on Monday evening and has been cleared of any fractures.

“We'll manage Willie during training this week but he should be available to face Italy,” said Roberts.

Lions prop Ruan Dreyer will join the Boks in Padova on Tuesday as a replacement for Du Plessis. – Reuters

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