The Sharks will be without the services of Springboks scrum-half Grant Williams over the next few weeks after he was sidelined due to a recurring neck injury.
Williams was part of the Durban-based outfit’s recent tour to the United Kingdom but only played for 30 minutes off the replacements bench during their Round 15 United Rugby Championship (URC) victory over Edinburgh at Hive Stadium on April 18.
His injury resurfaced during that encounter and resulted in him being ruled out for the Sharks‘ next match at the Kingspan Stadium on April 26 against Ulster which the visitors won 22-19.
Sharks head coach John Plumtree ruled out an operation for Williams although he admitted that there is “concern” around the ongoing injury but said they expect him to be available for selection for the URC play-offs.
‘Not serious enough for surgery’
“We’ll have to investigate more,” said Plumtree. “It’s not serious enough for surgery, but we need to manage it properly.
“He has a facet joint injury that has bothered him for weeks.
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“We rested him for weeks, and we had him doing neck strengthening exercises.
‘We have to give it a bit more time’
“The injury has settled down. It is healing, but it is not right yet, and we have to give it a bit more time.
“He’ll be back for the play-offs. We will give him another three to four weeks to get that neck healed fully.”
The Sharks have a bye this weekend due to the Champions Cup semi-finals but are set to return to action in the URC on May 9 when they host the Ospreys in Durban.
Following that encounter they will be in action against the Scarlets in Durban on May 17 before the URC play-offs kick off with the quarter-finals at the end of the month.
The Sharks currently occupy fourth position in the standings. They have amassed 53 points from 16 matches and have won 11 of those fixtures.
READ MORE: Springboks fly-half edging closer to South Africa exit – report
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/springboks-star-ruled-out-due-to-recurring-injury-as-sharks-provide-timeframe-update
