Pieter-Steph du Toit has surgery, out ‘for some time’

Springbok flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit will be out of action for a lengthy period after undergoing surgery on his injured shoulder, according to head coach Jacques Nienaber.

Du Toit was forced off during South Africa’s dominant 27-9 triumph over the British and Irish Lions in the second Test following a tackle by the tourists’ Duhan van der Merwe.

He therefore missed the third clash and Nienaber has confirmed the severity of the injury, with the Stormers forward potentially missing the rest of 2021.

“Pieter-Steph had shoulder surgery on Monday, and I spoke to him briefly. It went well but he will be out for some time,” Nienaber told reporters.

“I’m not 100% sure (if he will be able to play again this year). At this point, I would be lying if I put a time frame to the length of rehabilitation required.”

Duane Vermeulen update

South Africa duly begin their Rugby Championship campaign without Du Toit but there could soon be a return for influential number eight Duane Vermeulen.

Vermeulen has returned to training after sustaining an ankle injury prior to the Lions series.

The 35-year-old will not feature this weekend against Argentina – a side that contains 12 changes from the team that overcame the Lions last Saturday.

Nienaber is hopeful that the back-row will be involved at some point during the Rugby Championship but remains cautious about throwing him in too soon.

“Duane is training with us, and it’s nice to have him in the group doing his rehab. He hadn’t been a part of the squad for a little while, so his input into our structures is great to have again,” the head coach said.

“All I can say is that we won’t play him until he’s 100%. Everyone needs to be confident with his on-field training and recovery before we could consider him for a return to play.

“But the good news is that he did the majority of training sessions with us last week, and is training again this week. We will continue to assess his recovery, but won’t push him. It’s the same for someone like Faf, we will wait until there is full medical clearance to say when they are ready to go.”

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