Stormers coach Robbie Fleck says Eben Etzebeth has yet to fully recover from the concussion he suffered against the Jaguares. DYLAN JACK reports.
The Springbok lock was forced off at half-time in the Stormers’ bonus-point win over the Argentinian side at Newlands last Saturday, and indications were that he would sit out this weekend’s game against the Hurricanes in Wellington.
However, when speaking to the media from the team’s base in Auckland, Stormers assistant coach Norman Laker was positive about Etzebeth’s progress and confirmed that he had passed his head impact assessments up until that point.
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Etzebeth was named in the Stormers’ starting lineup along with Chris van Zyl, but Fleck confirmed on Thursday that he still might not play.
‘He still has to pass stage five [of his HIA],’ Fleck said. ‘He did not get through most of the training today, so we will give him most of tomorrow as another chance to pass fit.
‘He has been looking good and passing all the stages until today. But today he did not get past stage five. We are going to give him the best possible chance.
‘It is not risky because we have followed all the protocols. We have the extra day on Friday. We will make the best decision going forward. He is obviously very keen to play. We will make that decision tomorrow, but we would never put him at any risk.’
Should Etzebeth not prove his fitness, JD Schickerling will come into the starting lineup and Salmaan Moerat will take his place on the bench.
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