Alberts to go under the knife

Sharks and Springbok forward Willem Alberts will undergo a minor shoulder operation and will be out for a further four weeks.

Alberts, who has not taken part in either of the Sharks pre-season fixtures due to rehabilitation will be side-lined further after another set-back.

The Sharks are well-covered at loose forward in particular but from 1-15, there is quality depth and players filtering back into the system week after week means that the squad will remain strong and competitive even when disadvantaged through injury.

The team from Durban will have a tough outing to Bloemfontein to take on the Cheetahs this weekend will be hoping that they can remain injury-free until they get a number of their injured players back.

The Sharks have wrapped up their pre-season preparation after they beat the Pumas 50-19 in Nelspruit over the weekend and are hoping that they are ready for the the beginning of the Super Rugby season.

Where do The Sharks stand in terms of their preparation? Was it enough, have they benefitted and are they prepared?

"Yes, I think so," says assistant coach Hugh Reece-Edwards.

"We feel we’ve gotten out what we wanted from the two games, although had we sustained no injuries, we’d be happier. We would have had no injuries had we had no games, but you need the hit-outs, certainly this last game we got the physicality we needed.

"So from that point of view our physical preparation has been good and we’re happy with that," Reece-Edwards explained.