The Sharks Medical Update

May 7 • General News, Super Rugby, Super Rugby News • 3311 Views • Comments Off on The Sharks Medical Update

Durban, 7 May 2013: On Sunday, The Sharks arrived back in Australia for the reminder of their tour matches. The Sharks who have historically enjoyed a good tour record, have suffered several injuries to key players that has depleted the depth in the squad.

Despite this, the team had showed courage and perseverance in their two matches to date in New Zealand, against the Chiefs and Highlanders and were in both contests until the final whistle.

The Sharks coach, John Plumtree said, “It was evident that the team were playing and working hard for each other on the field, unfortunately the end result did not go our way. Despite the circumstances we find ourselves facing with the number of injuries that we have incurred, we remain positive that we can do well in Australia.”

Some positive news for The Sharks is that Willem Alberts will be joining the squad tomorrow and Bismarck du Plessis together with Butch James will be available for selection in just over a week.

The medical update at present is as follows:

Name of Player	Injury	Approximate Return
Allan Dell	MCL strain, right knee	4 weeks
Cobus Reinach	Left ankle ligament sprain	6 weeks
Craig Burden	Cervical disc dysfunction	Not established as yet
Dale Chadwick	Stress fracture	6 weeks
Francois Steyn	Acute compartment syndrome, left lower leg	6 weeks
Jacques Botes	Right forearm fracture	8 weeks
Louis Ludik	Right shoulder dysfunction	4 weeks
Marius Joubert	Right hand fracture	6 weeks
Paul Jordaan	Left knee ACL disruption	9 months
Tendai Mtawarira	Left calf muscle tear	3 weeks
Tim Whitehead	Right forearm fracture	4 weeks

John Plumtree concluded by saying, “We just need to carry on with what we’ve got. We haven’t given up and that’s an important message from the team. We want to show we are committed, that we hold hope and hopefully our actions on the field will show that.”