Rising Bok star Elrigh Louw goes under the knife, rehabilitation to follow

Louw sustained the injury during the Bulls' United Rugby Championship victory over the Lions in Johannesburg at the end of last month and he damaged ligaments in his left knee.

The surgery on the horrific injury was delayed as Louw also broke his leg and there was swelling on his knee which prevented the operation from taking place earlier.

The 13-Test Springboks back-rower was operated on by specialist orthopaedic surgeon Dr Bradley Gelbart, who also handled the surgery on Boks hooker Malcolm Marx after he sustained a knee injury during the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

Louw took to Instagram after the surgery, stating "The comeback is always stronger than the setback".

"The specialist is very confident that he can sort it out and that is good news," White told News24 before the surgery

"It's a massive operation, but I spoke to (Bulls hooker) Akker van der Merwe, and he went through the same thing.

"In fact, his was worse and he had also broken his leg, but Akker is still playing and running, so there's no reason why, with today's medical advances, that they can't get Louw back to normal.

"We won't rush it, and we'll give him as much time as he needs, and he's done everything possible to get the swelling down. They don't want too much swelling and blood around the area so that they can operate properly."

White also revealed that utility forward Cobus Wiese has an ankle injury, while Marcell Coetzee will miss Saturday's URC derby with the Sharks in Pretoria due to a head injury assessment (HIA).

"It's not as bad as they thought," White said.

"Those ankle injuries can be anything between four to eight weeks, and I probably think it is on the lower side.

"It's one of those things where we have to wait and see how it goes over the next two weeks.

"We've got two weeks off, but what I'm sure of is that between the Stormers game (at Loftus on 1 March) and the break (until 22 March, when the Bulls host Leinster), he'll be back."

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