Faf de Klerk out for up to five months after hip surgery
Faf de Klerk (centre) of the Springboks in action during the Rugby Championship Round 5 match between New Zealand All Blacks and South Africa Springboks at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville, Saturday, September 25, 2021. (AAP Image/Darren England) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY ** STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO COMMERCIAL USE, NO BOOKS **
Sale Sharks and Springboks star Faf de Klerk will miss the rest of 2021 and a portion of next year after undergoing surgery on a hip injury.
The scrum-half initially sustained the problem during the British and Irish Lions series, coming off in the second Test and then missing the third.
De Klerk featured in the majority of the Rugby Championship, however, playing a key part in their win over New Zealand on October 2.
He aggravated the issue during those final four matches in the competition and Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson has confirmed that the World Cup winner is out for a significant period.
There was no choice
“Faf has seen the very best person when it comes to these injuries. There was no choice, it needed an operation,” Sanderson said.
“We’re hoping it might be less than five months – maybe around four months, but we’ll see. I’m not happy about it but what can you do. We have to stay cheerful.
“Faf is a very positive lad. He’s brought his girlfriend back over from South Africa to look after him which is massive for him personally. If anyone is going to come back from an injury like this as strong and as motivated, then it’s him.
“Our S+C (strength and conditioning) guys are very experienced, and they’ll get the best advice too. Marland Yarde has had the same surgery and he’s now playing as well as he ever has. Injuries are part of the game.”
De Klerk’s injury leaves the Sharks with just one experienced scrum-half in the form of 33-year-old Will Cliff.
They have seen Raffi Quirke break through and earn a place in the England squad over the Autumn Nations Series, while there are also a couple of other promising youngsters, but their half-back stocks are looking slightly bare.
Sanderson is not looking for short-term cover just at the minute, however, and is confident in the players they have in the squad.
“We’ve got decent cover when Cliffy comes back. Gus Warr has been looking really good in training too,” he added.
“And we’ve got a young lad called Nye Thomas, he’s 18 years old and he could be another Raffi – with the ball in hand he’s electric and if he gets a bit of space, he’ll surprise a few people. I’m not too sure about his game management yet but you only get that from experience.
“Over the autumn internationals we’ve got two games in the Premiership Cup, so we want to give these lads a chance anyway. We’re not looking at any short term solutions at the moment.
“I’ve got huge faith in the lads we’ve got. It might be blind faith because they’re unproven at the top level. Right now, they need my backing and they’ve got it.”
