The National Times - Springbok Feinberg-Mngomezulu doubtful for Europe tour

He was speaking in northeastern city Mbombela a day after South Africa walloped Argentina 48-7 there to win the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship.

"Sacha underwent knee surgery and the original estimate was that he would be out of action for about five weeks," said the official, who requested anonymity.

"Now we are hearing from his club (the Stormers) that he may be sidelined for up to 12 weeks, which would sideline him for the rest of this year," added the official.

"A major concern is that he has injured the same knee twice within a year and, if rushed back, could develop arthritis. The Stormers are wisely adopting a conservative approach."

Feinberg-Mngomezulu either started or came off the bench in the first eight matches of the Springboks season, scored 52 points and impressed with his creativity.

His performances were good enough to relegate long-time playmaker Handre Pollard to the bench for the first Rugby Championship clash with arch rivals New Zealand last month.

However, Feinberg-Mngomezulu played in that match in Johannesburg after concealing that he had injured his knee during the build-up.

This angered head coach Rassie Erasmus, who told a press conference before a Test in Argentina this month that "Springboks must always be honest when it comes to injuries".

- 'Respect each other' -

"What our players must understand is that we have to respect each other, especially when it involves injuries," he said.

"Nobody who has an injury and is 80 percent ready is better than s Springbok who has no injury and is 100 percent ready."

Having discovered the injury, Erasmus still chose Feinberg-Mngomezulu as a replacement for the second Test against New Zealand, and he replaced Pollard in the second half.

The 22-yer-old fly-half was ruled out of two Tests against Argentina, and will likely miss internationals against Scotland, England and Wales between November 10-23.

South Africa beat Scotland in their first pool match and England in the semi-finals en route to retaining the Rugby World Cup in France last year.

The Springboks began this season by hammering Wales in London, where Feinberg-Mngomezulu made his Test debut off the bench.

More encouraging news for Erasmus is that two World Cup winners, full-back Damian Willemse and scrum-half Faf de Klerk, should be available for the end-of-season tour.

Willemse played for the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday after recovering from a finger operation.

Vastly experienced De Klerk suffered a thigh injury against Ireland in July and took no part in the Rugby Championship.

Further boosts for the world champions are the likely availability of locks RG Snyman and Jean Kleyn.

There is also hope that wing Edwill van der Merwe, who starred on his debut against Wales in June, may recover from an ankle injury in time to be considered for selection.

N.Johns--TNT