Stormers team doctor Jason Suter (Gallo Images)
Herman Mostert – Sport24
Stormers team doctor Jason Suter has shed more light on the freakish injury that has sidelined Springbok flank Pieter-Steph du Toit.
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The 2019 World Rugby Player of the Year is out for the next three months due to a leg injury sustained in his side’s Super Rugby loss to the Blues at Newlands late last month.
Suter – along with head coach John Dobson – addressed reporters at the Stormers’ High Performance Centre (HPC) in Bellville on Tuesday where an injury report was provided.
Suter made a startling revelation that Du Toit’s injury was potentially career-threatening.
“He had a medical emergency after the Blues game. He had a haematoma that developed into an acute compartment syndrome. It’s incredibly rare – there have been only 43 (cases) listed in the literature (worldwide),” Suter said.
The team doctor added: “It’s a medical emergency because if you don’t pick it up early they lose blood supply to the leg and they lose the leg.
“Within 15 minutes of him coming off the field and assessing him, we realised that he was at risk of this particular rare condition. He was taken straight to Vincent Pallotti (Hospital) where he had a vascular surgeon waiting and he was operated on that night.
“It’s very unusual, very rare but they had to cut through the muscle to release the pressure and they were only able to close that leg 10 days after his initial injury.”
Suter said Du Toit was recuperating at home.
“He is recovering well and we expect him to be back, based on the surgeon’s report, at around three months.”
Dobson added: “Doc deserves enormous credit for Pieter-Steph, had a rugby player lost his leg it would have been devastating for the game. And if it wasn’t for the timely intervention then I think (he could have lost his leg)… almost half of the 43 reported cases had resulted in that.”
Meanwhile, Suter also confirmed the injuries suffered in last weekend’s loss to the Sharks in Durban.
Prop Steven Kitshoff tore his pectoral muscle and requires surgery and is expected to return to play in four months’ time.
Scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies fractured his fibula and is expected to be out for three months, while lock JD Schickerling tore a muscle in his arm and will be out for a month.
Regarding the long-term injuries to skipper Siya Kolisi and hooker Bongi Mbonambi, Suter said: “Siya Kolisi is recovering really well. He is four weeks away from return-to-play. His was a 10-12 week injury – a Grade 3 medial collateral ligament tear.
“Bongi tore off his hamstring, that was a surgical case and at this stage he is on track, he’s doing well. However, it was a severe injury and he is expected to be out – from the time of injury – for between four and five months.”
The latest injuries to Kitshoff and Jantjies leave the Stormers without five of their six Springboks who played in last year’s Rugby World Cup final.
Dobson said the injuries were “freakish” and had nothing to do with overload.
“It’s just something that you can’t explain. We had six guys who played in the World Cup final – five are now out on long-term injuries. It’s really freakish. It’s not because of any conditioning issue whatsoever… it’s terrible…”
The Stormers also confirmed that there will be no team training amid the suspension of Super Rugby due to the coronavirus. However, players are allowed to gym at the HPC and practice their skills on the field.
