Injured Cheetahs captain Pienaar will be back before the end of the year
In the absence of the experienced scrumhalf, the Super Rugby Unlocked log leaders will be lead by flanker, Junior Pokomela.
Cheetahs captain Ruan Pienaar hurt his knee in last weekend’s match against the Bulls but the good news is he doesn’t require surgery. Picture: Getty Images
The bad news is the Cheetahs will be without their inspirational captain Ruan Pienaar for the next two months, but the good news is the star scrumhalf doesn’t have to go under the knife.
Pienaar, who is back in Bloemfontein and playing for the Cheetahs after years away playing in Durban for the Sharks as well as in Europe, hurt his knee in the first half of last weekend’s Super Rugby Unlocked match against the Bulls in Bloemfontein.
It was initially feared that the former World Cup winning No 9 had torn his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, but following scans on the leg on Monday the news is that Pienaar hurt his medial collateral ligament, which doesn’t require surgery.
The experienced scrumhalf will be asked to rest and take pressure off his leg and, according to a spokesperson at the Cheetahs, should be back in action towards the end of December – Boxing Day to be precise, and the match against the Sharks.
“It was disappointing to pick up the injury,” Pienaar told OFM Sport in Bloemfontein, “but it is sort of good news that it is not that bad.
“I’ll have to work hard now to be strong again and get back as soon as I can. It’s luckily not a long-term injury.”
In Pienaar’s absence, flank Junior Pokomela will take over the captaincy of the Cheetahs side.
The log leaders, with a two-from-two record, travel to Joburg this week to face the Lions in the third round of the new domestic competition.
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