Durban - The Springboks will miss two crucial players in their next Rugby World Cup clash against Fiji.
South African team doctor Craig Roberts confirmed that vice-captain Victor Matfield and centre Jean de Villiers were placed on the injury list, following Sunday's 17-16 win over Wales in a Pool D match.
Both players would need 10 days rehabilitation and join Bakkies Botha on the injury list.
Botha was unavailable for selection for the match because of Achilles tendon problems. His rehabilitation is continuing and he remains with the team.
"The two concerns were obviously Jean de Villiers, who has picked up a grade one rib cartilage sprain. We anticipate he will be out for 10 days and we took him off the field more as a precaution than anything else. We didn't want to make it a lot worse if he took another knock on the injury.
"Victor Matfield is in a similar boat. He felt his hamstring tightening up and, with a long tournament ahead, we decided to pull him off to protect that. He will also need 10 days or so to get over that," said Roberts.
According to Springbok coach Peter de Villiers, management is prepared to cope with niggling injuries.
"We always knew that what you gain in this team in terms of experience, you forfeit in terms of fitness in the week following a game.
"The older you get, the longer you take to get over the bumps and bruises. But we have a good squad here and a good medical team and the focus is on getting the players ready for when they run out on match day," De Villiers said.
The coach is relieved that there are only a few injuries in what he called the "toughest opening game in the tournament."
"We put in the hard yards in, in terms of conditioning, before we got here. That was banked and it's now a question of maintaining conditioning and getting players triggered. More training is not always better," said the coach.
Botha, meanwhile, trained in the gym with the non-playing members of the squad on Monday.
The match 22 were given a day to recover and will return to field training in Wellington on Tuesday.
The Springboks play Fiji in Wellington on Saturday, kick off 6pm (8am SA time). - BuaNews
