Jake White has revealed that Vodacom Bulls prop Simphiwe Matanzima had to be hospitalised after playing with a virus that has affected his heart.
Matanzima was not included in the Vodacom Bulls matchday-23 to face Ulster on Saturday, having played off the bench in the season-opening win over Edinburgh.
Speaking ahead of the match on Friday, White said the 27-year-old loosehead experienced breathing difficulty after last weekend’s match and was taken to hospital and kept for observation.
White said that Matanzima might have felt pressure to play through his illness after Wilco Louw withdrew from the team to face Edinburgh, but warned that it was risky for him not to tell anybody that he wasn’t feeling well.
“He didn’t tell anybody, he just wanted to play,” White said. “After the game, when he was sent in by the team doctor, the heart surgeon said he must stay in hospital.
“I didn’t want to take that kind of risk and when you get a virus, it can affect your heart and, with some athletes, it affects them more than others.
“It was just to make sure that we sent him to a specialist, and I think he’s out of hospital now. He just got up in the morning and, with Wilco’s matchday withdrawal, he may have felt that him withdrawing wasn’t going to look good.
“Instead of him saying to us he’s feeling a bit down, he just went on and played, from where he said to the doctor after the game that he was struggling to breathe.
“I wish he had told the doctor because we would’ve looked after him sooner rather than later,” White added. “When someone mentions a heart issue here, we jump, and the doctor was quite disappointed that he didn’t tell him.
“I don’t want to get melodramatic, but we’ve had prop forwards die at Loftus Versfeld because of heart attacks.
“At times, it just shows how young and naive the youngsters can be. He got a bit of a fright and he’s not playing for at least the next two weeks.
“He’s been given the care that he needs and deserves.”
Photo: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
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