Handre Pollard and Lukhanyo Am have been released from the Springbok squad to return to their respective clubs and are expected to miss the rest of the Rugby Championship through injury.

Both players suffered knee injuries against Australia in Adelaide last week, which prompted the decision to send them back to the Leicester Tigers and Sharks respectively for further medical advice.

While further confirmation is being awaited on the exact length of time both players will be out, they are not expected to return for the Tests against Argentina in Buenos Aires (17 September) and Durban (24 September).

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Elton Jantjies (hand) and Pieter-Steph du Toit (knee), meanwhile, will remain in camp, as they are expected to recover sufficiently from their injuries for the last two matches of the team’s campaign against Argentina.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber said no replacements would be called up at this stage as they have sufficient cover within the squad. However, if the need arises, they will call on reinforcements.

“It’s always unfortunate to lose players in a squad, but this opens the door for other players to step in and showcase what they can do in those positions,” said Nienaber.

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“We will now have 32 players in camp and with Elton expected to recover for the matches against Argentina and players such as Andre [Esterhuizen] and Jesse [Kriel] and Frans [Steyn] all being capable centres, we are well covered.

“Our plan from the outset of the season was to give most of the players in our expanded squad game time as we build towards the Rugby World Cup, and this involved rotating a few players, so we’ll use this opportunity to build our depth.”

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