The Southern Kings avoided any serious injuries in last Friday's pre-season contact session against university side, the NMMU Madibaz.

Coach Deon Davids said Lukanyo Am sustained a bruised knee, while Malcolm Jaer and Jurgen Visser both had tight hamstrings, but they are not expected to be sidelined for long.

It will be of some relief for the Kings considering they already have a fairly lengthy injury list, with Phillip du Preez, Aidon Davis, Louis Fouché, Jaco van Tonder and Kevin Luiters all undergoing rehab.

The Kings will have another warm-up against the SWD Eagles this Friday, serving as preparation for their Super Rugby opener against the Sharks on 27 February.

'It is obviously a concern when you have a long injury list before the start of the season, but we are doing the best that we can under the current circumstances,' Davids said. 'It was the best practice that we could ask for [against NMMU], the guys really gave us a go. I think we were really tested on defence and on attack, but I’m happy with the way we responded.'

Davids said from an attacking point of view there was room for improvement in terms of keeping the ball through phases, and that he was not happy with the tackle count on defence.

'Going into our first official friendly, our focus will shift, and we will begin to focus more in terms of testing combinations, as well as at improving on our performance from the NMMU game.'