Lood de Jager says he doesn’t expect to be back before the end of the year after suffering a torn muscle in his shoulder during the Japanese club season.

De Jager has missed the July series against Ireland and the opening Tests of the Rugby Championship in Australia due to the shoulder injury he suffered in the final of Japan’s League One.

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While initial reports suggested that he would be out for at least two months, De Jager said in an interview with Jean de Villiers on the Verdict that he only expects to be back by December at the earliest.

“I tore one of my rotator cuff muscles in my shoulder, pretty badly, it’s off the bone,” De Jager said. “So that has to heal and reattach itself.

“Timeline-wise they are saying six to eight months that would put us between December and February – earliest December.”

It is another massive blow for the 31-year-old, who missed the 2023 World Cup due to a heart condition.

De Jager made a strong return for Saitama Wild Knights in January, helping the club go through to the season’s final unbeaten, and was named in the competition’s Team of the Season.

The Springboks are currently also without Franco Mostert, who suffered a broken leg against Ireland, while RG Snyman is still recovering from the foot niggle that forced him to withdraw at the 11th hour from the team that beat Australia in Brisbane.

Photo: Dave Rowland/Getty Images

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