The Stormers may have beaten the Lions by a record margin over the weekend, but it came with a great cost in the form of Andries Bekker‘s toe injury which may sideline him for the remainder of the Super 14 season.

Stormers spokesperson, Frikkie Erasmus said on Tuesday that the big lock has torn a ligament in his big toe and he will not be travelling with the team to Australasia on Thursday.

“At the moment we are waiting for the doctor to indicate the extent of the injury,” said Erasmus.

“So at this stage we are not sure exactly how long he will be out but Andries will not be leaving with the team [to Australasia].

“We are hoping that he will make a recovery soon but it’s important that he fully recovers from this injury.”

Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus has been weighing up his options to replace the big Springbok lock having contacted former Stormers lock Ross Skeate, who is currently playing for Toulon in France. However, Skeate broke his jaw last weekend and is therefore no longer an option

Erasmus admitted in the pre-season that the lock department lacks depth but it appears that the Stormers will have to call on their current back-up locks to fill the void with loose forwards Francois Louw and Duane Vermeulen the options.

“Francois has played there and we believe Duane can play there. He certainly has the height and he has the weight. He is around the same size as Adriaan Fondse,” Stormers’ forward coach. Gary Gold told Supersport.

“Obviously losing Andries is not ideal, particularly in view of what he gives us in terms of explosiveness. He has become an important part of our attacking weaponry. But these things happen in rugby, particularly in this competition, and we are just going to have to make other plans.

“Apart from Duane and Francois, we also have Hilton Lobberts in the squad, and he can cover both lock and loose-forward. AJ Venter has come through well for us in the last few games, so while it might be a problem finding someone who can play No 5 lock, we do have options.”

Former Stormers hooker Tiaan Liebenberg will rejoin the side from Toulon following an injury to Deon Fourie, while centres Dylan des Fountain and Morgan Newman could also be included in the squad.

The Stormers are also likely to be without injured wings Tonderai Chavhanga and Nick Koster when they set off on tour. Koster was stretchered with a serious knee injury and Chavhanga, Koster’s replacement, left the field with a hamstring injury.

At least Springbok Conrad Jantjes will return to the squad in time for the Australasian leg of their campaign.

Source: rugby365.com

Tags: andries bekker injury, stormers