Springbok Roos says he’s fine after collapsing
Evan Roos had to be treated at a hospital in Johannesburg this week after collapsing on arrival at OR Tambo International Airport from the Bok tour to Europe.
The Springbok and Stormers No 8 spoke in the wake of his health scare. Roos suffered a broken rib in the final match of the outgoing tour against England, but played through the pain in what was just his third Test appearance.
The 22-year-old said he didn’t eat much on the flight back from London and collapsed while waiting for a connecting flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town. “I started feeling dizzy when I was sitting in the living room and collapsed on the way to the bathroom. It felt as if my eyes wanted to close and I couldn’t stand up,” Roos told Netwerk24.
Roos was taken by ambulance to a hospital and underwent a series of tests, including a consultation with a pulmonologist to make sure there was no damage to his lungs. “At least there was nothing wrong and he said it was all right if I got on a plane. I went back to the Cape [on Tuesday] evening,” he said.
“I think the pain, exhaustion, together with me eating little and taking pain pills, had quite an effect. I think it was already too much and then my body decided it had to ‘reset’ now. Everything just came to a point.
“Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. It sounds bad, but when I think back now, I haven’t been on holiday in a long time.”
Stormers head coach John Dobson confirmed during Friday’s team media conference that Roos would be allowed to recover from his injury and would not be back before mid-january.