Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth has explained the details of the finger injury he suffered during a Toulon training session that gave his British & Irish Lions series hopes a scare.

The injury prompted fears that Etzebeth could be in a race against time to prove his fitness for the British & Irish Lions series in July.

This comes after the Springboks have already seen Lood de Jager and RG Snyman – who will be back in action soon for Munster – suffer long-term injuries over the past year.

However, in the latest edition of ‘The Rugby Pod’, Etzebeth told co-hosts Jim Hamilton and Andy Goode that he expects to be ready to return to action for Toulon in May.

‘I just came on a line off nine,’ Etzebeth said. ‘There wasn’t even contact. The ball and the guy, it was almost like shadow. It was shadow rugby and the ball and the guy in front came at the same time. I almost tried to catch the ball with one hand and stop the guy in front with the other and somehow my finger got caught.

‘The bone actually came through the skin … so I saw it and I was like “Oops” and I ran to the physio’s room and it got operated on the same day.

‘[It was] quite a weird accident,’ Etzebeth added. ‘I will probably be playing [in] three, four weeks again. Like with rugby, any injury is sometimes a blessing, so the body gets a bit of a rest. There is still a big year ahead, otherwise all good in France. Missing the family back home with Covid rules, otherwise it is good.’

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