Bok lock Lood de Jager could miss a good portion of the Premiership season after being ruled out for up to six months with a dislocated shoulder.

De Jager dislocated his shoulder during the first quarter of the World Cup final. He will undergo surgery in Cape Town next week once the swelling around his joint has subsided and could only return to action in between four and six months.

That could put De Jager out until March next year, by which stage the English Premiership would have already gone past its halfway mark.

De Jager signed for Sale Sharks before the World Cup, joining the large South African contingent already based in Manchester, including the Du Preez brothers Dan and Jean-Luc, as well as front rowers Akker van der Merwe and Coenie Oosthuizen.

It is also the second significant injury for De Jager this year. The 26-year-old missed a good portion of the Bulls’ Super Rugby season also through a shoulder injury that required surgery.

Bok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk, also at Sale, will rejoin the club after a short two-week break.

There was an update on Handre Pollard’s fitness. The Springbok flyhalf fractured his eye socket against England and missed the World Cup winners’ trophy tour through Gauteng as he was operated on in Pretoria on Wednesday.

Pollard joined French giants Montpellier, but will be out for six weeks.

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