The Vodacom Bulls welcome back Willie le Roux for the match against Bordeaux Begles at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, but will be without Wilco Louw for several weeks.
Tighthead prop Louw, who has been in terrific form since returning to South Africa from English side Harlequins, played just 30 minutes of the Bulls’ away win against the Bristol Bears last week before he was forced off with a shoulder injury.
He is ruled out of the Champions Cup clash with Bordeaux in Pretoria, but Bulls director of rugby Jake White has revealed that the front-row powerhouse won’t be sidelined longer than initially feared.
“Look it’s not as bad as we thought initially,” White was quoted by Rugby365 in the buildup to this weekend’s match. “But he will miss a few games.
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“We are lucky enough that we don’t play too many games between now and the end of February, so hopefully by the end of February he should be back.
“He just hurt his AC joint and it is not as bad as initially thought. They thought it might be his shoulder, but it is the lowest form of AC injury that you can get, so it is positive.”
The Bulls can look to Khutha Mchunu, Mornay Smith and Jacques van Rooyen as potential replacements at tighthead.
White confirmed that Le Roux will be available for selection this week, after the two-time World Cup-winning fullback was given time off as part of a required rest period for all Springboks.
“He will be back this week,” White said. “His leave has been broken up into two blocks, with the first one finished, and then he will get another block in February.”
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