John Plumtree offers injury update on Sharks' Springboks stars

The big news concerns the extent of Springboks centre Andre Esterhuizen's knee injury which he sustained during last weekend's United Rugby Championship defeat to the Stormers in Cape Town.

The 2023 Rugby World Cup winner came off second best after being cleaned out at a ruck by Stormers replacement back Jean-Luc du Plessis.

Plumtree indicated that Esterhuizen will not be in action when the Sharks host Toulouse in their highly anticipated Champions Cup clash in Durban on January 11.

"(He) has had a scan. We're hoping he won't need an operation. It looks like he will be out between four to six weeks, however he will be seeing a specialist for further update on his injury," Plumtree said.

Fellow Springboks outside back Aphelele Fassi and up-and-coming second-row Emile van Heerden joined Esterhuizen on the sidelines due to injuries sustained in the Sharks' defeat to the Stormers and Plumtree also gave an update on their issues.

On Fassi, he revealed: "Scans have been done. He will see an orthopaedic specialist in Durban for his ankle, which is the main concern. The timeline for his injury layoff has not be established as yet."

While he said of Van Heerden: "He has had a scan. He will see a specialist when he is back in Durban for his knee. Not sure of the exact timelines regarding his injury, at this stage."

Apart from the three players injured against the Stormers, the Sharks have been decimated by issues to several other stalwarts, including Springboks trio Bongi Mbonambi, Eben Etzebeth and Lukhanyo Am, as well as back-rowers Vincent Tshituka and James Venter.

Plumtree provided the following updates on the aforementioned players.

"[Mbonambi] will get an x-ray later in the week to ensure his hand has healed properly and is functional. We are confident that he should be okay for the clash against Toulouse," he said.

"Eben has one more test to do for concussion symptoms. He should be available for Toulouse.

"A functional test and X-ray will be done to determine if his [Am] injury has healed significantly.

"[Tshituka] is getting more treatment this week and a fitness test will be done on Friday to see where he is at in terms of his injury.

"[For Venter], fitness test also to be done later in the week to determine where he is at in terms of his recovery."

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