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Good and bad news for Bulls
29/01/2008 11:34 - (SA)
Johannesburg - The Bulls will be without tighthead prop Rayno Gerber for their warm-up outing against the Lions in Windhoek on Saturday - and he could be out for as long as four weeks with an Achilles injury sustained in the warm-up match against the Boland Cavaliers on Saturday.
In a media release on Monday, the Blue Bulls Company says Gerber would be out for at least two weeks and possibly for as long as four weeks, which means he could miss the first two Super 14 matches against the Stormers and Crusaders.
Gerber will undergo a sonar as soon as the swelling has subsided, but the team doctor Tommie Smook is optimistic Gerber will be up and running in two to four weeks.
There is also some good news for the Super 14 champions. World Cup Springboks, prop Gurthro Steenkamp and wing Akona Ndungane, as well as scrumhalf Heini Adams, are fit and will get a run against the Lions.
A decision on the availability of injured World Cup Springbok utility forward Danie Rossouw will be taken later in the week.
Steenkamp, who cut his forearm, and Ndungane will both play 20-30 minutes against the Lions and Adams will probably be given a run of 40 minutes.
Lower back injury
There is also more good news in a position that must have worried coach Frans Ludeke. Young lock Hendrik Roodt has recovered from his lower back injury and will be available to play against the Lions, and lock recruit Wouter Moore could also he given a run of about 40 minutes after injury.
However, Springbok hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle will have to wait another two weeks in order for his medial ligaments to heal. He missed a large part of last season because of an injury to the same knee.
The other tightheads in the Bulls squad are Werner Kruger, Sangoni Mxoli and Rassie van Vuuren, with the ever-improving Kruger the likely replacement for Ryno Gerber.
The Bulls' next warm-up match is on Thursday when they play against the Lions at Wits, with both sides expected to field second-stringers or players who have just recovered from injury. On Saturday the two strongest available teams from the two Super 14 franchises will play one another in Windhoek.
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