AG KNEE MAAN: Stormers suffer Moerat setback
Stormers captain Salmaan Moerat has gone under the knife again to fix a knee injury and is unavailable for his Kaapse team’s next two games of the United Rugby Championship.
Although Stormers attack coach Dawie Snyman remained upbeat after revealing the latest Moerat injury blow to the Daily Voice on Tuesday, the latter’s latest setback is becoming a big concern for Kaapse fans.
It was almost a year ago that Moerat was sidelined for five months of the 2023/24 URC campaign when he tore a chest muscle in the Stormers’ opening URC game against the Lions at Ellis Park.
And that blow came in the Paarl-born lock’s return from a bigger injury he suffered in December 2022 – tearing his knee ligaments in his side’s European Champions Cup game against London Irish.
It seemed Moerat’s injury crisis was over after he became the Springboks’ 66th captain in July’s Test against Portugal in Bloemfontein. But then he suffered a concussion in his second outing as skipper in the Boks’ 30-12 Rugby Championship win against Australia in Perth.
Of the Stormers and Bok captain’s latest surgery, Snyman tells the Daily Voice: “Salmaan is not available [for this week’s game against Munster] and next week [against Glasgow Warriors].
“I think he will be available at the end [of October]. He had a small procedure. He has got a small [knee] injury.”
Should Moerat, however, be cleared fit to play, Snyman adds of how national commitments could extend his unavailability to the Stormers: “I’m not sure if he is available for the Springboks end-of-year tour, but he is [definitely] unavailable for our next two games.”
Luckily for John Dobson’s Kaapse span they have beefed up their lock stocks after the signing of JD Schickerling as a key enforcer at second-row.
Adre Smith and utility forward Hendre Stassen can also do a job as brekers in Moerat’s possible prolonged absence.