Springboks: Malcolm Marx receives surprise prognosis after leg break from ugly incident
A bloodied Malcom Marx in action for the Springboks.
Malcolm Marx looks set for an earlier than expected return after suffering a broken leg against Ireland on Saturday.
The Springboks hooker sustained the issue after being croc-rolled by Caelan Doris, which earned the visiting captain a yellow card.
There were fears that it could lead to Marx missing a significant chunk of the 2024 Test season. This, after being out of action for eight months due to the injury sustained at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Rugby Championship hope
The 30-year-old will miss this weekend’s clash with Portugal but he could well be available for the Rugby Championship which starts on August 10.
That is according to journalist Hendrik Cronjé, who works for Rapport, with the front-rower apparently not looking in “any noticeable discomfort.”
“Just on Malcolm Marx. I walk passed him in the hotel yesterday. He did not look in any noticeable discomfort. He is struggling with a fracture in his tibial plateau,” Cronjé wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“He will be back in two or three weeks time. Good news before the Rugby Championship.”
It is certainly a significant boost for South Africa, who paid the price for an attritional encounter against Ireland in Durban.
In an extremely physical clash, fellow key forwards Franco Mostert and Pieter-Steph du Toit also suffered injuries.
Meanwhile, wing Edwill van der Merwe, who starred on debut against Wales, is also absent after picking up an issue while playing for the Lions in the Currie Cup.
“Franco is out for six weeks, he broke his leg,” head coach Rassie Erasmus said on Tuesday. “Malcolm, I just heard now, he’s got a little bit of tibia fracture, when he got injured.
“Edwill is out for six weeks and Pieter-Steph is out for four to six weeks. But, all will be ready for the second Test of the Rugby Championship, apart of the guys who are out for six weeks.”
Rugby Championship schedule
The Springboks may have to reshuffle the pack slightly at the start of the Rugby Championship, which begins on August 10 against Australia in Brisbane.
Those teams then do battle for a second time a week later before Erasmus’ men head home for a double-header with the All Blacks in a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final.
South Africa finish with matches against Argentina as they look to claim their first Rugby Championship title since 2019 and keep their place at the summit of the world rankings.
