Worry and despair were the prevailing feelings for South Africa fans after it was announced that three of their most important players were being left out of the World Cup squad due to injuries.
Handre Pollard would be a crucial loss, and his absence has left the inconsistent Manie Libbok as the only recognised out-half in the squad, while Lukhanyo Am and Lood de Jager are both world class options that have missed out.
However, it was revealed that all three players have the potential to be available for the first game of the World Cup, and that they are on standby.
Head coach Jacques Nienaber has also gone into more detail on the seriousness of Pollard's and Am's injuries:
Handre’s rehab went well, but he now needs to go through a test match week and the demands of a test match week.
He needs to be able to produce on a Saturday and then he has to back it up the next week and the next week without putting him in too early. Even if he makes it through the first and second weeks, and then he breaks up in the third week.
He will be able to start training with us, whereas with Lukhanyo, we think it is a two-to-four-week injury. But it is still very acute. And we will probably get a better gauge at the end of this week how he is doing.
We believe they both will have the potential to be fit and ready to go by the Scotland game, maybe the week after that.
Jacques Nienaber Discusses South Africa Injuries
4 November 2022; Head coach Jacques Nienaber during the South Africa captain's run at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
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Despite being on standby, the players still need to one of those already selected to go down with injury, or, as Nienaber has mentioned below, to 'do something to deselect themselves'.
It is a vague statement from the coach and mildly cryptic, and makes us think to ourselves, do South Africa have a plan up their sleeves to get these three world class stars back in?
“There are two new injuries in Lood and Lukhanyo, who was injured over the weekend and Lood during the week," said Nienaber.
“Handre is different to them in the sense that he is almost in his return to play and getting back to full fitness.
“He hasn’t had a training session with us yet, and the difference between Siya, and Ox and Handre is that Siya and Ox have done training with us and have done the volume and intensity that they must handle in a test week.
“Unfortunately Handre hasn’t had training with us yet. He will probably start training with us this week.
“But Handre can only come into the World Cup squad if there is an injury or a player does something to deselect himself.”
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