Loose forward Marco van Staden is a fitness concern for the Vodacom Bulls in the countdown to next Saturday’s Champions Cup clash against Lyon in Pretoria.
The World Cup-winning Springbok was replaced by Mpilo Gumede during the first half of a heavy defeat for the Bulls by Leinster at the RDS Arena in the Vodacom URC on Friday night.
The Bulls host French Top 14 outfit Lyon at Loftus Versfeld in the last 16 of the Champions Cup, and addressing Van Staden’s availability, director of rugby Jake White revealed the openside flanker injured his knee in Dublin.
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“I took him off, because I need him for the rest of the season,” White was quoted post-match in the Irish capital. “I did not want him to do more damage.
“I know a MCL [medial collateral ligament] is not as bad as the other ligaments. However, he is very important for us and the Springboks going forward.
“We want to get him ready [to play again] sooner, rather than later.”
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