Jean-Luc du Plessis is unlikely to feature in Western Province’s Currie Cup campaign due to another injury setback.

Du Plessis returned to action in April after recovering from a hip injury that required surgery last year. He played a handful of matches but then missed the Stormers’ last game of the season against the Sharks.

On Tuesday, Western Province coach John Dobson confirmed Du Plessis suffered a similar injury and could potentially be ruled out for the remainder of the year.

‘Last year it was the other hip that was injured and he was out for six months and this time it is a different hip with the same injury so I guess you can figure it out for yourself, but we are hopeful that he won’t have to undergo an operation this time,’ said Dobson. ‘He will definitely not be available this week [against Free State].’

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Dillyn Leyds played flyhalf for WP in their second warm-up game against Montpellier, but Dobson has indicated he plans to primarily use him in the back three, with Josh Stander possibly coming in at No 10.

‘Dillyn sparks so much for us from the back, he is the real talisman of the team. We feel we would lose a lot of Dillyn’s value if he was not at the back, where he enjoys the space and is the spark of our counter-attacking play.

‘I was happy with Josh’s performances towards the end of the Rugby Challenge and also in the Super Rugby match he played against the Sharks. The thing about Josh is that he was not part of the John Mitchell era at the Bulls, but he is a fine attacking player and anyone who saw him play at school will know he is an exceptional attacking flyhalf. He is starting to head back towards that style of play now.’

Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images