Bok star Faf de Klerk set for extended spell on the sidelines

Faf de Klerk has been ruled out for the remainder of the year after the Toyota Cheetahs issued a medical update on their sidelined Bok star.

The double World Cup winner suffered an ankle injury in last month’s 29-27 defeat to Bayonne in the opening round of the Challenge Cup and it has now been confirmed by his club that he won’t play again until January.

In a statement, the Cheetahs said: “Faf de Klerk sustained an ankle injury during the game against Bayonne on 18 October and will be on the sidelines for 8 weeks. He is expected to return in early January, in time for Round 3 of the EPCR Challenge Cup, when the Toyota Cheetahs face Zebre Parma in Italy.

De Klerk was integral to the Cheetahs’ run to the semi-finals of the Currie Cup campaign, which preceded tbe start of the Challenge Cup campaign, following his summer move from the Canon Eagles in Japan.

As a result of his injury, de Klerk will miss the Cheetahs’ debut at their new European home ground, the second round Challenge Cup fixture against Dragons at St Helen’s in Swansea, on 13 December.

Marco Jansen van Vuren and Erich Visser will shoulder the burden at scrum-half in his absence.

The 35-year-old won the last of his 60 Springbok caps in a 55-10 win against Georgia in July last year, although he did feature against the Barbarians in a non-cap game in June.