Wednesday Round-Up

Concern for Lee: Wales head coach Warren Gatland has today confirmed that prop forward Samson Lee may not be available for this year’s Rugby World Cup in England, having suffered an injury in Wales’ crucial win over Ireland last weekend. Scarlets tight head Lee incurred a full rupture of his Achilles tendon and is now said to be rated as 50-50 for the game’s showpiece event which kicks off in 6 months time across the Severn Bridge. Speaking at his team announcement for this weekend’s final round of Six Nations action, Gatland said that he had hoped Lee would have already undergone surgery to repair the damage and begin his rehabilitation program. However, due to intense swelling, surgery was postponed a week. With an expected period of six months on the sidelines, it seems Lee will be in a race against time to prove his fitness to the Welsh medical staff.

Miracle for du Toit: After much speculation surrounding the availability of second row forward Pieter Steph du Toit for this year’s World Cup, the Sharks player sent out a hugely positive and surprising message on social media site Twitter yesterday. Following surgery on his ACL, du Toit revealed that the attending doctor confirmed that surgery went better than initially hoped and that his rehabilitation period would be cut to just over three months. Having initially been expected to undergo a rest period of six months, du Toit’s ambitions of partnering veteran Victor Matfield in the Springboks’ second row remain alive. However, given that the general rehab period for an ACL tear of du Toit’s significance stands at six to nine months, the news post surgery is surely to be treated with caution by Heyneke Meyer.

Ryan Sheady