Blitzboks Muller du Plessis and Justin Geduld are in a race against time to be fit for the Hamilton Sevens.

Both players picked up injuries at the Cape Town Sevens last weekend, ruling them out of action for at least six weeks. This makes them doubtful for the Hamilton Sevens, which takes place from 26-27 January.

A scan revealed a back injury to Du Plessis, ruling him out for six to eight weeks, while Geduld underwent an operation on Tuesday to remove cartilage in his knee. He will also not play for at least six weeks.

It is still unclear when captain Philip Snyman will be able to return to the field after he suffered a shoulder injury on the weekend.

‘Philip has been reviewed by a specialist and the scans showed that his injury involves the sternocostal joint [between the breastbone and the first rib],’ team doctor Leigh Gordon said.

‘It is an unusual injury. We will have to see how his rehabilitation goes in January before we can make a call. Obviously we hope that he will be available for selection for the tournaments in Hamilton and [then]Sydney a week later.’

However, there was good news about Werner Kok, who underwent surgery for facial fractures on Monday and will be fit to return to training early next year. The Blitzboks’ top points’ scorer of all time, Cecil Afrika, as well as Stedman Gans and Heino Bezuidenhout, are also all expected to be fit for the Australasian legs.

Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix