Lions fullback Andries Coetzee and lock Rudi Mathee have been ruled out of the opening stages of Super Rugby.

Coetzee suffered a knee liament injury and Mathee was found to have broken his arm – which will put them on the sidelines for six and eight weeks respectively – in the Super Rugby warm-up match against the Kings in PE on Saturday. The Lions went on to win 19-12.

On the plus side for the Lions, three players recovering from shoulder injuries – Elton Jantjies, Anthony Volmink and Ruan Dreyer – are all making good progress and are expected to return to action within three weeks.

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