Springbok captain Siya Kolisi says that while there is light at the end of the tunnel, his current injury situation “sucks”.
Kolisi underwent knee surgery in April and is currently in camp with the Springboks in Pretoria where they are preparing for their first Rugby Championship clash of the year against Australia on July 8.
The 32-year-old captain won’t play in the Rugby Championship, but should be ready in time to lead the team at the World Cup in France later this year.
Kolisi: "I’m confident with how things are going" - more here: https://t.co/Nw1YkvT6SK 👏#StrongerTogether #Springboks pic.twitter.com/Vj2Pnp13Yn
— Springboks (@Springboks) June 20, 2023
Of being injured in camp and knowing he won’t get to play anytime soon, Kolisi says: “It sucks, it’s not nice to be in this position.
“But the nice thing is I’ve been here before with both coach Jacques [Nienaber] and Rassie [Erasmus].
“It’s been good to be backed and supported like this and the medical team is working really hard.
“The nice thing is I’ve been here before. And there are other guys in the team who’ve been through this also and that helps.”
Kolisi says that while his situation isn’t lekker, it’s better to be in and around his teammates.
He explains: “Rehab is going well, I’m working hard and it’s great to be doing it in a team environment as well.
“It helps a lot with my mental side as well to see the work that is happening. If I wasn’t here, I would have missed out on a lot.
“It’s really good to do the rehab here. I’ve been speaking to RG [Snyman], Handre [Pollard], Pieter-Steph [du Toit] a lot – they’ve done knees as well.”
The Springboks are yet to name a captain for the Rugby Championship, with regular vice captain and flyhalf Pollard also currently nursing a calf injury.