Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi breaks silence on his knee injury

Injured Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi has broken his silence about his chances of being fit in time for the upcoming Rugby World Cup in France. The 2019 RWC-winning captain underwent knee surgery near the end of April and he is now with Jacques Nienaber’s squad in Pretoria as they prepare for their July 8 Rugby Championship opener at home to Australia.

It was initially feared when Kolisi suffered the injury when playing for the Sharks in the URC that he could miss the finals in France which begin with the September 10 clash versus Scotland in Marseille.

However, his rehabilitation has so far progressed excellently, and he is now optimistic about making his return to play the previous month during his team’s warm-up match schedule.

“I’m feeling good, and my rehabilitation is going well,” said Kolisi at a media briefing on Tuesday. “I have been working hard to recover as well as possible, and it’s great to be able to do so in the team environment.

“Some of the players have been helping me as well, so I’m taking things day-by-day. It’s not a great feeling to be injured, but I have been here before and it’s nice to have the support of the coaches and players, as well as the medical and conditioning team, who have been fantastic.

“I’m progressing each week and I have steadily been able to do new things, so I’m confident with how things are going. Hopefully, I will be able to play in one or two of the Rugby World Cup warm-up games.”

After hosting the Wallabies, the Springboks, who are currently working their way through a three-week preparation camp, will travel to play New Zealand on July 15 in Auckland.

They will then take on Argentina in a double-header, welcoming them to Johannesburg on July 29 in the final round of the shortened Rugby Championship and then travelling to play again in Buenos Aires on August 5.

That latter fixture is one of three warm-up matches – the others are Wales in Cardiff on August 19) and New Zealand in London on August 25 – before the Springboks will travel to Corsica for a one-week camp en route to Toulon, their pool stage base for the duration of the Rugby World Cup.