Le Roux in injury blow for Bulls

The Bulls were dealt another injury blow ahead of their next United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against Zebre after veteran Springbok Willie le Roux had surgery on his shoulder on Monday and will be unavailable for at least a month.

Le Roux, who has 97 Test caps, is keen to get to 100 this year and the Bulls will want him available for the business end of the URC, so it seems the operation was more to fix a minor problem from an old injury than any major concern.

This comes hot on the heels of a number of concerns for coach Jake White ahead of the Zebre game, as he is certain to lose wing Sebastian de Klerk to suspension, and also has concerns about Springbok forwards Cameron Hanekom and Johan Grobbelaar.

Le Roux’s absence means another enforced change is set to be made when the team is announced on Friday.

But the good news is that Canan Moodie should be back in line for selection, after missing the Leinster game with concussion.

Moodie is expected to complete his return to play protocol in time for the game this weekend, so that will sort out the De Klerk headache for White.

At fullback though, it is anyone’s guess. Jaco van der Walt has not been seen for ages, and is likely to still be struggling with injury while Henry Immelman has been loaned to the Sharks.

Devon Williams, who has played No 15 on a number of occasions, is the favourite to take Le Roux’s spot for the game against Zebre.

But the prognosis for Hanekom and Grobbelaar is uncertain and is sure to cause some anxious team management meetings this weekend.

The bigger concern at the moment is Grobbelaar, who was nursing a shoulder injury after the game and depending on how he reacts, could determine whether he takes the field on Saturday against Zebre or not.

Hanekom’s situation though is also fluid as the last time he took a knock he was out for a number of weeks and missed some of the local derbies as a result.

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