Question marks still hanging over Lions skipper Whiteley

THERE were more questions than answers following Lions captain Warren Whiteley’s visit to an orthopaedic surgeon to determine the extent of a recurring knee injury.

But the early signs are not good and will surely have some sort of impact on his teammates when they line-up for their first Super Rugby tour match today against the Waratahs in Sydney.

Whiteley was supposed to return to captain the side today – and for the full fourmatch tour of Australia and New Zealand – after missing the last five weeks’ of rugby because of posterior cruciate ligament damage in his knee, sustained while playing against the Blues.

But on Monday, the day before the 27-man squad departed to Australasia, the Springbok No 8 felt a “click” in his knee and was withdrawn from the tour squad. He had an MRI scan done on Wednesday and saw a doctor late on the same day, but his employers were unwilling to disclose any major news yesterday.

All the Lions had to say about the injury was: “Warren Whiteley has not been medically cleared by the Lions Rugby Company medical team and will not join the Lions on tour until he is medically cleared.”

How this setback – his not joining his teammates on tour – impacts on the Lions will be known as early as today when the tourists clash with Australia’s leading team in Sydney.

Franco Mostert will again lead the side, from the flank position, in a match that will set the tone for the full trip. A quality Lions performance – after only arriving in Sydney late Wednesday in an attempt to beat jet-lag – will do Swys de Bruin and Co the world of good; more so now that Whiteley is sidelined.

But, if the Lions come undone – as has happened on a few occasions this season – then the tour could turn into a real tough one, with the other three matches being against the Reds, Hurricanes and Highlanders.

The good news though is they’ve been happy, and successful, tourists in recent years and are also coming off a bye and a good win against the Stormers before that. However, De Bruin might have preferred the Lions played the very next week after knocking over the Stormers as a good number of days later they may now have lost their momentum and spirit.