Publications
There were encouraging signs out of France on Sunday that Springbok wing Cheslin Kolbe's injury is not as bad as initially feared.
On Saturday night, Kolbe was carted off the pitch in the first half of Toulon's Top 14 clash at Lyon shortly after scoring a try.
While there was no clarity on the severity of Kolbe's injury, there were major concerns given that he was in tears when he left the field, clearly in a lot of pain with what seemed to be a foot injury.
According to French publication Midi Olympique RugbyRama, however, Toulon coach Pierre Mignoni said after the match that Kolbe had suffered a sprain and not a fracture.
Mignoni said the club would have more information after further tests were conducted.
While a sprain would be great news for both Toulon and the Springboks, Kolbe would still likely be sidelined for several weeks.
On Friday night, in a Currie Cup victory over the Blue Bulls in Bloemfontein, meanwhile, 35-year-old Frans Steyn injured his knee and is now not expected to travel with the side for their European Challenge Cup last 16 clash against Toulon this Friday.
Rapport quoted coach Hawies Fourie on Sunday saying that Steyn had visited a doctor on Saturday morning, and that it was highly unlikely he would make the trip to France.
While Steyn and Kolbe were on course to clash in a tantalising fixture between their clubs this coming weekend, the more obvious worry comes from a Springbok perspective, with this being a World Cup year.
Both players were instrumental in South Africa's famous victory in Japan in 2019, and news out of both the Cheetahs and Toulon will be monitored closely in the coming days.
