The Sharks have confirmed that Pat Lambie, Ruan Botha and Francois Kleinhans will all be out for 12 weeks as the result of various injuries.
It's a triple blow from the Sharks' first pre-season warm-up game against Toulon, with Lambie having undergone surgery on Monday after suffering an AC joint dislocation on the right shoulder. Botha sustained a hip labral tear in France and also went under the knife on Monday, while Kleinhans had surgery last Friday after tearing his bicep.
In further injury blows, new recruit Jacques Potgieter will be out for six to eight weeks with an ankle injury that requires a scope, while lock Giant Mtyanda will be sidelined for three weeks due to a nasal bone fracture. Loose forward Renaldo Bothma has also suffered a suspected foot injury and will undergo scans this week.
There is at least some good news for the Sharks, though, with flyhalf Inny-Christian Radebe, flank Jean Deysel, lock Stephan Lewies, No 8 Tera Mtembu and prop Thomas du Toit set to resume training this week after recovering from injuries.
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