Director of rugby Neil Powell expects Springbok enforcer Eben Etzebeth to miss the remainder of the Sharks’ 2023 season as his shoulder injury is worse than first reported.
SA Rugby’s 2022 Player of the Year was hurt in the Champions Cup last-16 win against Munster in Durban last week and, according to Powell, the Bok centurion faces up to 14 weeks on the sidelines.
The Vodacom United Rugby Championship resumes next weekend and Kings Park will showcase a blockbuster clash between the eighth-placed Sharks and ninth-placed Benetton, as both teams look to secure a play-off spot with only two rounds remaining.
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Speaking in a Sharks conference on Friday, Powell told reporters: “In terms of how long he [Etzebeth] will be out for, I think it’s quite a long time; I’m not 100 percent sure but probably 12 or 14 weeks.
“I don’t think he’ll play for us again this season, but he will definitely be ready for the World Cup [in five months’ time].”
Etzebeth will be in a race against time to face Australia on 8 July, with the Boks scheduled to kick off a bumper 2023 Test season with a clash between the world champions and the Wallabies at Loftus Versfeld in a shortened Rugby Championship.
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Can the Sharks overcome a mighty task in toppling Top 14 leaders Toulouse? @mark_keohane and Zels make their Champions Cup picks. pic.twitter.com/uARZrk0xM9
— SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) April 6, 2023
Photo: Ben Evans/Huw Evans/Gallo Images