Springbok star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu's injury worse than initially feared

The 22-year-old, who has become the first-choice pivot in 2024, sustained the problem ahead of South Africa's victory over the All Blacks in Johannesburg.

However, Feinberg-Mngomezulu played in that match after not telling head coach Rassie Erasmus or the medical staff about the issue.

He then featured off the bench in the second encounter in Cape Town as the Boks secured successive wins to set them on their way to a first Rugby Championship title since 2019.

The playmaker underwent surgery following that 18-12 triumph with an original prognosis of four to five weeks out handed down.

That would have made him available for the end-of-year tour to the northern hemisphere, but his participation in those games now appears in significant doubt.

"Sacha underwent knee surgery and the original estimate was that he would be out of action for about five weeks," a South African official, who requested anonymity, said.

"Now we are hearing from his club (the Stormers) that he may be sidelined for up to 12 weeks, which would sideline him for the rest of this year.

"A major concern is that he has injured the same knee twice within a year and, if rushed back, could develop arthritis. The Stormers are wisely adopting a conservative approach."

Those concerns appeared founded when Stormers boss John Dobson addressed the matter, stating that Feinberg-Mngomezulu could technically return within eight weeks, but that it is likely to be longer.

"There was some damage to the same knee he injured last year," Dobson said. "That is a concern, having injured the same knee twice in a year. The official prognosis is an eight-week lay-off.

"However, given the history and given that you can get an early onset of arthritis with a repeat injury, it will be a tragedy for a player that has a massive contribution to make to the game in South Africa and the Stormers.

"I suspect it should be a couple of weeks longer than that [eight weeks].

"The last thing you want is for him to get some sort of arthritis or some career-threatening situation. We will be very conservative with his return."

Springbok boss Rassie Erasmus spoke about Feinberg-Mngomezulu's absence ahead of their double-header against Argentina and admitted he was frustrated by the flyhalf's failure to reveal the extent of his injury.

"That's what our players must understand; we have respect for everybody, but we must be honest when it comes to injuries," Erasmus said.

"Nobody who's got an injury and 80% ready is better than a Springbok who has no injuries and is 100% ready. So Sacha is lucky that we won those Test matches because he gambled a bit."

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