BIG READ: Will Henco van Wyk shake off injury troubles and reach full potential in 2025?

Lions centre Henco van Wyk is one of the most promising youngsters in South African rugby, but in recent years has been stunted by regular injuries, which led to him missing out on making his debut for the Springboks in 2024.

The 23-year-old was all set to put on the green and gold for the first time during the June and July internationals, after he was included in the Bok alignment camps earlier in the year, while coach Rassie Erasmus also admitted his admiration of the up-and-coming talent.

If he had impressed he may have even seen more game time during the Rugby Championship and end of year tour, but instead suffered a serious knee injury in April that led to him going under the knife and being ruled out for five months.

During the Incoming Series in July, Erasmus mentioned Van Wyk on a number of occasions as one of the players the Boks were missing due to injury, which heavily indicates that he fully planned on giving him his first cap, likely against Wales or Portugal.

Lions Bok debuts

Instead, a number of other Lions players, namely Morne van den Berg, Ruan Venter and Quan Horn, along with Jordan Hendrikse, who had yet to join up with the Sharks, made their Bok debuts.

Van Wyk eventually made his return to action with the Lions in the United Rugby Championship (URC) towards the end of September, but by that stage the Boks had a large and settled group, which put paid to his chances of making the squad for the November Tests.

Since returning, Van Wyk has continued to impress, putting in a number of strong showings, including in their defeat against Leinster in Dublin, where he put in a brilliant defensive shift, while against Munster in Limerick he scored an incredible solo try.

However, an injury niggle has kept him out of the Lions’ last two games, in the Challenge Cup against Section Paloise and in the URC against the Stormers.

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen claims that it is a minor injury and that they are confident he will be fit for their next EPCR game against Montpellier in France next weekend, but if the Lions send a weakened team over, as they have done before, he might only return against Dragons at home a week later.

This is not Van Wyk’s only run of trouble on the injury front, with his knees being a particular week point as he has three injuries to the region since January 2023.

If Van Wyk can stay injury free and return to his best over the coming six months, it is more than likely that he will finally make his Bok debut later in the year, especially with fixtures against Italy and Georgia offering a great chance to blood some more new players and give fringe players a chance.

Injury woes

A few other Bok players will also hope to put their injury woes behind them over the coming months and get themselves back into the international frame.

Damian Willemse suffered a torrid 2024, with different injuries ruling him out of the entire international season and the World Cup winner will be desperate to be back in 2025, along with Evan Roos who also picked up a serious injury that stunted his chances.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu missed around three months of action after having knee surgery in September, and since making his return to the Stormers fold has suffered three different injuries in three straight games, namely concussion, hip pointer and collarbone knocks, but all indications are that he will be back sooner rather than later.

One cap Bok, Lions loose forward Venter, has also been out for a spell after undergoing shoulder surgery in October and could be out until February, and he will also want to get back on the field and back onto the Bok radar ahead of the 2025 international season.