The Southern Kings medical team under Dr Clement Plaatjies found themselves rather busy in the wake of the local franchise's 26-12 defeat to Ospreys on Friday. Thankfully most of the cases they had to deal with concerned bumps and bruises but there was some unfortunate news when it came to centre Harlon Klaasen.
"Harlon suffered a hamstring injury and will be unable to play for a while so a decision has been made to send him back to South Africa. Jacques Nel will be flying in as a replacement," Dr Plaatjies said.
Amongst the other players who required treatment was scrumhalf Rowan Gouws who went into the Ospreys match with concerns about his ankle but, other than a little stiffness, was in good shape and would be available for selection against Leinster this weekend. Similarly, Stephan Coetzee, who dislocated a finger after coming onto the field as a replacement against Ospreys, was showing no ill-effects.
Dr Plaatjies also reported that prop Dayan Van Der Westhuizen, who missed the match on Friday evening because of an ankle injury, had responded well to treatment and would be fit and ready for Leinster if needed.
Loose-head prop Schalk Ferreira, meanwhile, was suffering from some stiffness in his neck as well as bruising of the ribs which limited his training yesterday as was the case with fullback Masixole Banda who had a rotator cuff contusion.
Man-of-the-match against Ospreys Andisa Ntsila was the only other concern for the Kings medical team. "He went into the match with a tight quad and it seemed to flare up during the game but I think that's just testament to the tough performance he put in. He has responded well to treatment and will definitely be ready for Friday," Dr Plaatjies said.
The Southern Kings face Leinster at the RDS Arena on Friday, 23 February, kick off is at 21h35 SA time.
