July return for Bok miracle man
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers has described his recovery process from a serious knee injury as a "miracle".
De Villiers suffered a horrific knee injury in the Springboks' final Test against Wales in Cardiff late last year.
He is currently undergoing intensive rehabilitation and is in a race against time to prove his fitness for the World Cup in England and Wales later this year.
The tournament runs from September 18 to October 31.
De Villiers, speaking at a media briefing in Johannesburg, said he feared he may never walk again when he suffered the injury in Cardiff in November.
"The problem is that there won't be a lot of rugby on the go at that time, because the Currie Cup would not have started and I'll probably have to make my return in club games," he said.
De Villiers told the media scrum that recovering from the injury has been the biggest challenge of his career.
"However, the way I've recovered these last five months has been nothing short of a miracle," he said.
"When I was laying there on the Cardiff turf in severe pain, I thought to myself I'd be lucky if I ever walk again.
"But the specialists and medical personnel have performed wonders and they even made use of artificial ligaments to help rebuild my knee."
The 34-year-old made his Test debut against France in Marseille in 2002 and has since represented the Springboks in 106 Tests.
He became Bok captain in 2012.
* Meanwhile De Villiers said the lack of depth in the outside centre position is a bit of a worry.
The Bok skipper said he wants to prove that he's still the best inside centre (No.12) in the country, but wouldn't mind helping out at outside centre - a position he feels the Boks lack depth.
"If need be, then I'll play at outside centre to help the team out," De Villiers said.
"For me, there aren't enough guys who want to make that position [No.13] their own.
"Lionel Mapoe and Juan de Jongh have to grab that chance to show they can do it. I believe they are good enough to do it.
"I wouldn't mind playing at No.13. However, what bothers me is that, being captain, I'd be a bit far from the action.
"Another thing is that whoever then gets picked at No.10 and No.12 would be youngsters in two very important decision-making positions.
"At flyhalf you have [Handré] Pollard, [Pat] Lambie and [Elton] Jantjies to choose from and at inside centre you'd have [Damian] de Allende and Jan Serfontein.
"I also believe No.13 is the toughest position to defend in. It could happen that I play at No.12 on attack and defend at No.13."
De Villiers also felt the Boks may be a bit thin on the wing.
"There are guys like Bryan [Habana], JP [Pietersen] and Cornal Hendricks who stand out, but I'd like us to have more depth at wing."
Source: News24Wire