Springboks lock set for long-awaited return after seven months out for ‘off the bone’ injury
Lood de Jager is set to make his long-awaited return from injury this weekend.
Springboks lock Lood de Jager is set to make his long-awaited return from injury in Japan this weekend.
The World Cup-winning second rower has been sidelined since sustaining a shoulder injury in the Japan Rugby League One final between the Saitama Wild Knights and Toshiba Brave Lupus.
De Jager played 12 times for the Wild Knights during last season’s Japanese season having made his return from a health scare that saw him miss the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Before the tournament in France, he was diagnosed with pericarditis, which is inflammation around the lining of the heart.
He was diagnosed with the condition a day before the squad announcement for the World Cup.
Lood de Jager returns
His successful and safe return to rugby in 2024 put him in the frame for a Springboks recall only for the injury in defeat to the Brave Lupus in the final, denying him the chance to add to his 66 Test caps.
The lineout general will look to earn his recall in 2025 and will take his first step in doing so as he turns out for the Wild Knights in a training match against the Honda Heat.
The two Japanese clubs will face off in the league this weekend with an additional training match scheduled, which De Jager will feature in.
Meanwhile, his Springboks teammate Damian de Allende has been named in the Wild Knights starting lineup to tackle Honda in the league fixture. De Allende will go up against fellow double World Cup winner Franco Mostert, who will start at lock for Honda.
Robbie Deans’ Wild Knights have enjoyed a perfect start to the new season, winning all three of their opening matches, while the Heat have been a surprise package so far, winning two of their three matches, defeating the Ricoh Black Rams, upsetting Sir Steve Hansen’s Toyota Verblitz before falling just short to Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay.
“Pretty bad”
De Jager revealed the extent of his injury last August on The Verdict show.
“I tore one of my rotator cuff muscles in my shoulder, pretty badly, it’s off the bone,” he said.
“So that tendon has to heal and reattach to the bone, basically.
“Timeline-wise the doctors are saying six to eight months that would put us between December and February – earliest December. So I will miss all the Test matches for the Springboks this year.
“Hopefully, I will have another crack next year.”
While held in high regard by the Springboks coaches, De Jager could struggle to force his way back into the squad in 2025 with several locks sticking up their hands in 2024 during their lock crisis.
Rassie Erasmus gave Bulls lock Ruan Nortje an opportunity which he made the most of while Salmaan Moerat is seen as a leader in the squad. Meanwhile, Mostert continued to impress while RG Snyman was in stellar form in July and November.
However, De Jager is regarded as one of the best lineout operators in the game with the Springboks’ set-piece somewhat struggling without him in the squad.
He was a pivotal part of the team that won the World Cup in 2019 and the one that defeated the British and Irish Lions in 2021.
