The Springboks have confirmed that captain Siya Kolisi is on track to return from his knee injury in time for the World Cup warm-up matches.

Kolisi went under the knife last month after suffering a knee ligament injury while in action for the Sharks in the final round of the Vodacom URC.

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The surgery has placed Kolisi in a race against time to prove his fitness for the World Cup, with the Springboks set to announce the 33-man squad that will travel to France on 8 August.

During a press conference held in Pretoria, where an expanded 40-player squad has been training, Rassie Erasmus provided an update on the loose forward’s fitness.

Erasmus confirmed that the Springboks are aiming to get Kolisi involved in the World Cup warm-up games, as he has progressed well in his injury rehab.

“Our target at this stage is to have Siya ready to play one or two warm-up games before the World Cup,” he said.

This means that the Springboks will have a new captain during the truncated Rugby Championship, which gets underway on 8 July.

Erasmus said just to name a few players, there were a number of potential interim captains in the squad for the other Tests. These include Steven Kitshoff (prop), Eben Etzebeth (lock), Duane Vermeulen, Pieter-Steph du Toit (both loose forwards), Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am (both centres).

Following the Rugby Championship, the Springboks have three World Cup warm-up fixtures scheduled: against Argentina in Buenos Aires on 5 August, Wales in Cardiff on 19 August and then New Zealand at Twickenham on 25 August.

The games should give Kolisi enough time to improve his match fitness before the defending champions get their World Cup campaign started against Scotland on 10 September.

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