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Springboks fans given injury update they've waited a long time to hear

Eben Etzebeth, RG Snyman, Jean Kleyn and Franco Mostert of South Africa pose for a photo following their team's victory ing the Rugby World Cup Final match between New Zealand and South Africa at Stade de France on October 28, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

World Cup-winning Springbok Jean Kleyn is poised to make his return to the field for the first time since November last year after recovering from an eye injury.

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The 31-year-old is yet to play a match in 2024 after injuring his eye playing for Munster against Leinster shortly after returning from South Africa’s triumphant World Cup campaign in France, where he played the final 20 minutes of the final.

The severity of Kleyn’s injury increased as last season progressed, with fears rising that it could have been career-ending.

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    But in an injury update shared by Munster on Monday, the United Rugby Championship outfit revealed that Kleyn is back in full training ahead of their season-opener against Connacht on Saturday.

    This is a boost for both Munster and South Africa, with Rassie Erasmus dealing with a mini lock crisis currently, albeit with depth in that position unseen by any team in rugby history.

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    The Springboks are also without Franco Mostert, who has a broken leg, Kleyn’s former Munster teammate RG Snyman, who is recovering from a foot injury, and Lood de Jager, who has a shoulder injury.

    With two matches remaining in the Rugby Championship and the Springboks sitting in a healthy position at the top of the table, it is highly unlikely that Kleyn will feature in their squad, as, after all, they will only have one more match after this weekend.

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    However, the former Ireland lock can now make a push to feature in the world champions’ November internationals, where they will face Scotland, England and Wales.

    Elsewhere in the Munster squad, Ethan Coughlan has joined Kleyn in returning to full training, while Dave Kilcoyne is increasing his training load with a return to full training in sight.

    Winger Diarmuid Kilgallen, meanwhile, is a fresh concern, and will now begin a period of rehabilitation for a leg injury.

    Seven players – Brian Gleeson (shoulder), Cian Hurley (knee), Tom Ahern (ankle), Rory Scannell (ankle), Paddy Patterson (knee), Edwin Edogbo (Achilles), Roman Salanoa (knee) – remain out for the province.

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    Related

    Watch the highly acclaimed five-part documentary Chasing the Sun 2, chronicling the journey of the Springboks as they strive to successfully defend the Rugby World Cup, free on RugbyPass TV (*unavailable in Africa)

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    J
    JW 1 hour ago
    Razor has an about turn on All Blacks eligibility rules

    Yep, another problem!


    I think he would have, in the instance I mentioned, which wasn’t changing anything other than correctly applying todays eligibility quidelines. Which is an arbitrary construct, as the deal likely would have played out completely differently, but I just ‘allowed’ him to have 1 year sabbatically for his ‘loyalty’, rather than having some arbitrary number like 70 caps required.


    So if Richie had a 3 year deal, and the first year he was allowed to use him still, I don’t think he’d really not transition to Dmac being his main 10, as he’s obviously the only one he can use for the following two years, therefore likely his only real option for the WC (very hard for Richie to overtake him in such a short time). Richie would purely be a security net in a situation like I proposition where there are only small changes to the eligibility.


    The system is not working well enough though, as we don’t have the Rugby Championship or World Cup trophies, do we? Well on that last question, that’s all I’m really saying but I would not believe a word this author says, so it’s entirely a ‘what if’ discussion, but if the author is right and now they are actually going to be more flexible, I think that’s great yeah. Ultimately thought I think those two players were an anomaly signing their contracts and futures up so far ahead, especially of when they were performing. Both jumped at the opportunity of good contracts when their All Black prospects weren’t looking that bright.

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