In a brutal battle against the All Blacks in Wellington, Springbok star Aphelele Fassi suffered a serious injury, and had to be taken from the field on a medical cart.
It immediately looked as if Fassi could be set for an extended period on the sidelines, and this week he confirmed on social media that he had just gone in for surgery upon returning to South Africa.
Sadly, it’s now been confirmed that the leg injury sustained against New Zealand will keep him out of action for between four to six months.
It means that his Springbok season will unfortunately come to a premature end, while he is also set to miss a large part of the Sharks’ URC season.
Sharks coach confirms unfortunate news for Springbok fullback
With the Sharks preparing for the start of the 2025-26 URC season, coach John Plumtree confirmed Fassi is facing a “pretty significant injury”.
“It’s going to be anywhere between four to six months. Hopefully not longer than that.”
In his absence at national level, the Springboks are expected to deploy Damian Willemse at fullback, while Hakeem Kunene will be the likely option for the Sharks at 15.
BIG FORTNIGHT FOR BOKS
While the Springboks and Pumas will battle it out in the last leg of the southern hemisphere showpiece, the All Blacks will take on the Wallabies for the Bledisloe Cup, and given how tight the standings are, any team could snatch the title, which the Springboks won last season for the first time since 2019.
Only two points separate the first-placed Wallabies, on 11 log points, and the last-placed Pumas (on nine points), while the second-placed Springboks and third-placed All Blacks are level on 10 points. All sign suggest the competition is set to go down to the wire as South Africa aim to retain their title.
