Springbok prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye faces an anxious wait, with the outcome of his doping hearing still at least a month away.
The 26-year-old scrum machine appeared before a disciplinary panel last week, where three days were set aside to hear two charges – one relating to a specified substance (anastrozole) and another to an unspecified substance (DHEA).
MORE: Ntlabakanye denies doping after failed drug test
But there will be no quick resolution.
“The closing arguments by the defence and prosecution are scheduled for the last week of April,” Khalid Galant, chief executive of the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (Saids), confirmed to Rugby365. “Thereafter, the tribunal panel will deliberate and render the decision.”
A verdict is expected within two weeks of those final submissions.
The case has drawn widespread attention since SA Rugby confirmed last August that Ntlabakanye had returned an adverse analytical finding during a random test.
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Despite the uncertainty, Galant reiterated that the prop has not been provisionally suspended so will be available to play for the Lions until the final verdict is delivered.
Ntlabakanye has also consistently disputed that he committed an anti-doping violation and has continued to feature for the Lions across their Vodacom URC and European campaigns.
Photo: Timothy Rogers/Getty Images
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