The Sharks are hoping captain Lukhanyo Am will be available for the crucial Currie Cup clash against the Vodacom Bulls on 12 December, writes CRAIG LEWIS.
At the beginning of November, it was confirmed that Am had suffered a hand injury, which was expected to rule him out of action for approximately four weeks.
In his absence, Jeremy Ward has assumed both the captaincy and No 13 jersey, with the Sharks kicking off their Currie Cup campaign against the Pumas on Friday.
The Sharks have a bye in round two, and will then be hoping that Am could be available for selection.
‘Lukhanyo should be ready for the Bulls game,’ coach Sean Everitt commented on Wednesday. ‘He’ll go for X-rays and see where he’s at. It’s an intricate injury to have, so we must be careful how we manage it and get him back in the fold.’
Another World Cup-winning Springbok, Sbu Nkosi, has also been making his way back from injury, but will once again play off the bench on Friday.
Everitt also offered some insight into this selection.
‘Sbu was great against Griquas recently and effectively won the game for us with his incredible play from the final kick off. His contributions off the bench are massive.
‘He didn’t train on Monday because he got his Covid test back late, through no fault of his own, and the sooner we see him back in the starting line up it will be great for us.’
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With the Sharks having seen their final Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked clash called off due to a Covid-19 scare in their camp, Everitt also revealed they would consider making some slight adjustments to their training schedules if necessary.
‘We were fortunate this week in that we didn’t play last weekend, even though we wanted to of course, but that enabled us to get the guys tested on Sunday and received the results that night.
‘So we trained as per normal on Monday and it didn’t affect us this week. But going forward, it’s something we will look at, and revise our schedule accordingly.’
