There are a few top players who are in a race against time to overcome injuries in time for the start of the Springboks’ Test season that begins in July.
One of those is almost certainly set to be talented utility back Ethan Hooker, who was seriously injured in an unfortunate incident over the weekend when Ospreys winger Luke Morgan controversially landed on his shoulder as he was dotting down for a try.
It’s now been confirmed that Hooker will have to go under the knife, and although an exact timeline has not been shared for his recovery, it’s expected to be at least two to three months.
“Ethan flew home, and he saw the surgeon,” Pietersen ahead of this weekend’s game against Edinburgh.
“I can’t say how long he will be out for. He is probably going to go for surgery sometime this week.
“Obviously, when they open up the shoulder, they will see something different, so I don’t have an exact time on how long he will be out for.”
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Despite many headlines and questions being raised about the actions of Morgan, the citing officer ultimately “found that it did not meet the red (or yellow) card threshold”.
Ospreys boss Mark Jones has also come out firmly in defence of his player.
“It’s a disgrace if people are going to target sportsmen around incidents like that on a sports field to make it personal over an event on the field.
“He’s done his absolute utmost to do what we ask players to do, which is not give up until the ball is grounded.
“Ethan Hooker is a great player and unfortunately he got injured in that incident, but there’s no malice in that challenge.
“It’s really unfortunate that Ethan got injured – he’s a top-quality player and we hope he won’t be out of the game for too long – but Luke was just trying his best to do what he could for his team.”
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