Johannesburg – The 2015 Super Rugby has come to an end for Rynhardt Elstadt, who established himself as a key member of the ever-improving Stormers pack.
Tests done on his injured leg on Monday revealed that he has three torn ligaments and a broken bone in his lower right leg.
Elstadt, who has to undergo surgery is likely to be out of the game for at least four months, Stormers coach Allister Coetzee said.
The player has proved his mettle both as a lock and flank.
“Elstadt has suffered a maisonneuve fracture and the medics say he's likely to be out for four months. So he will start out again at the end of May,” Coetzee said in Bellville on Monday.
More bad news coming out of the Stormers camp is that Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth (chest) and wing Kobus van Wyk (calf) will not be in the selection for the weekend's game against the Lions in Johannesburg.
“Eben was assessed this morning and he is still a bit sensitive. He has been looking good at training but one can see he is still restricting certain movements.
“Kobus is still not ready and there is no need to put him at risk. We need to be fully satisfied that he is match fit,” Coetzee said.
Good news is that Springbok Frans Malherbe is ready to go and has recovered fully from his long-term ankle injury.
“Frans is looking good and will be returning from a long injury. He could be joined by lock Manuel Carizza. We'll look at both of them on Tuesday and then make a call,” he said.
Coetzee also announced that the Japan-based Schalk Burger will return for Stormers duty next week.
“Because of the foreign-player restrictions for the clubs in Japan, Schalk hasn't played too often so he'll be in good shape by the time he joins us.
“He'll also be in a captaincy role because we'll have to rest Duane Vermeulen in terms of SARU's player requirements,” said Coetzee.
Others still on the injury list include promising lock Jean Kleyn (hamstring) and fullback/centre Jaco Taute (knee).
Coetzee said a rather pleasing aspect of last weekend's match was the team's discipline.
One area that Stormers will be focusing on this week is the line-out.
“There are line-out issues we need to sort out. The Blues were street-wise so things did not pan out like we planned. Our execution let us down,” said Coetzee.
After two rounds, the Stormers are heading the SA Conference table and second on the overall standings. – Sapa