Major blow as De Villiers sustains serious injury
CAPTAIN Jean de Villiers has told his Springbok teammates that the “team comes first” and that they must carry on with their goal of winning the 2015 World Cup after his dream of playing was left in doubt.
De Villiers sustained a horrific knee injury in the 58th minute of Saturday’s 12-6 loss to Wales at the Millennium Stadium. It is so severe that the chances of him playing again are slim.
De Villiers, who ironically nearly pulled out of the match on Thursday because there was a possibility that his wife would go into labour with their third child, now faces massive surgery, rehab while dealing with a newborn and two young daughters. It’s going to be a testing time in the De Villiers home.
“The scans revealed significant ligament damage to the inside of his knee and the supporting muscles,” said Springbok team doctor Craig Roberts.
“Jean will return to South Africa and see an orthopaedic specialist in Cape Town early in the week.
“He has had previous surgery on this knee and the further management of the injury is dependent upon the specialist’s recommendations.”
In addition to a dislocated kneecap and torn medial and cruciate ligaments De Villiers also tore his hamstring.
It’s a disastrous catalogue of injuries for the 33-year-old to overcome in time to lead the Boks at the World Cup.
De Villiers was taken to hospital on Saturday night but returned on crutches and in time to join his despondent teammates in the team room for their traditional fines meeting.
He was apparently leading the way when it came to making jokes and lifting the mood, underlining his value to the squad.
“Jean is an unbelievable asset to the team and losing him is a huge blow,” coach Heyneke Meyer said.
“He said last night that it is not about him, but about the team and they must go on. But emotionally it is a huge setback not only for him, but for me as well.
“All our planning has been done with him in mind. He is a massive part of setting the team’s culture. It’s a huge step back but we will do everything in our power to get him back on the field, but it is going to be tough.
“We started the year slowly because Jean didn’t play in June. Although Victor Matfield was great as a leader, he had just come back to international rugby and he had to find himself and find the team.
“Also the third year cycle in between World Cups is always one of the toughest and Jean is the one guy I’ve always felt must go to the World Cup. This is an unbelievable setback for the team.”
Meyer would not rule De Villiers out of the World Cup, which starts in 10 months, but the tone and the mood of management suggested that few believe the captain will be in England next September.
It would be a bitter blow for De Villiers who missed the 2003 World Cup after sustaining a knee injury in a warm-up game.