Sharks coach JP Pietersen has confirmed that Springbok star Ethan Hooker will have surgery on his dislocated shoulder.
Speaking ahead of the Sharks’ Vodacom URC encounter against Edinburgh in the Scottish capital on Friday night, Pietersen said it was unclear how long Hooker would be sidelined for.
“He’s seen the surgeon, but I can’t give an exact timeline,” Pietersen said. “He’ll probably go for surgery this week, and then we’ll know more once they’ve opened up the shoulder.”
MORE: URC rules on Hooker incident
Pietersen also confirmed that the team had accepted that no further action will be taken over the controversial incident which saw Hooker injured against the Ospreys last week.
“We had a conversation with the head of referees,” Pietersen said. “It is what it is. It’s out of my control. It’s for the referees to decide.”
The injury casts serious doubts over Hooker’s Test season with the Springboks, with recovery time anywhere from three to four months, or potentially longer depending on the severity.
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Another talking point from the Ospreys match was the uncontested scrums that took away a powerful Sharks weapon in the final quarter. They were introduced when the hosts had no more props available.
In the aftermath of the game, Pietersen said: “To be honest, that is a question mark. We don’t know, did [the prop] get injured or were the Ospreys taking the contest away from us?”
On Thursday, Pietersen said: “We had a review meeting with the URC. It’s always a confidential discussion, but we got clarity on what happened.
“They investigated it and gave us feedback. We asked our questions, we got answers, and now we move on.”
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