Durban - In a double blow for the Sharks, Eben Etzebeth is officially out of their Champions Cup quarter-final against Toulouse while scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse is out of the game for 10 weeks after undergoing shoulder surgery in a Durban hospital on Tuesday.
The pair suffered shoulder injuries during the Sharks’ 50-35 defeat of Munster last week. Etzebeth did not come out for the second half and while his injury is not serious, he won’t be fit by Saturday.
The Sharks have confirmed that he did not leave with the team for Toulouse on Wednesday morning.
The 23-year-old Hendrikse was injured in the process of scoring a try early in the game, suffering a shoulder dislocation as he dived over the tryline with a Munster player on his back.
Wishing you a speedy recovery 🖤#FearTheFin pic.twitter.com/LGSyFHjO9S
— The Sharks (@SharksRugby) April 4, 2023
The Sharks boast another star scrumhalf in Grant Williams who can slot straight in but it is nevertheless a significant blow to the Sharks.
Hendrikse has been in excellent form and with him starting the game and Williams finishing it, the Sharks had the best of both worlds in terms of Hendrikse’s measured game management and Williams’ deadly game-breaking ability.
The experienced Cameron Wright is expected to provide bench cover for Williams.
The Springbok coaching staff will have taken note of Hendrikse’s injury with disappointment but the reality is that there is sufficient time for the scrumhalf to recover before the Boks head to the World Cup in France in September.
Hendrikse had a break-through year at the Springboks in 2022 and put the heat on incumbent No 9 Faf de Klerk.
The loss of Etzebeth is a bigger blow to the Sharks’ hopes of toppling Toulouse. The Bok enforcer is a man mountain and the catalyst in the Sharks’ tight five. When Etzebeth plays, the Sharks pack fires on all cylinders, and the team inevitably wins.
Etzebeth is difficult to replace and with the promising Emile van Heerden also injured, Neil Powell is likely to move Vincent Tshituka to lock to partner Gerbrand Grobler in the second row.
The Sharks have an abundance of quality loose forwards but their stock of locks is diminishing., with Van Heerden joining Le Roux Roets on the "seriously injured" list.
Any one of James Venter, Henco Venter, or Dylan Richardson could slot in for Tshituka, who played the second half at lock when Etzebeth was injured.
The lock cover on the bench is likely to be Reniel Hugo.
IOL Sport