Steven Kitshoff (Michael Maytham)
- Stormers prop Steven Kitshoff went down with an injury in mid-March that required surgery.
- He is expected to be fit for SA Rugby’s planned domestic Super Rugby competition in August.
- Kitshoff says he ‘can’t wait’ to watch live rugby on television again when New Zealand’s Super Rugby Aotearoa starts this weekend.
There is never a good time for a professional athlete to sustain a serious injury, but with rugby at a standstill since mid-March, Stormers and Springbok prop Steven Kitshoff has been able to undergo his rehabilitation without missing any action.
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It has been nearly three months since the Stormers’ 24-14 Super Rugby loss to the Sharks in Durban and it was in that match where Kitshoff went down with a pectoral injury that would require surgery.
He is well on the road to recovery, though, and said on Wednesday in a video press conference that he is around a month away from a return to full fitness.
With SA Rugby hopeful that it will stage a truncated version of Super Rugby in August that would include only South African franchises, Kitshoff is likely to be fit and available for selection should that tournament take place, meaning he would have not missed out on any rugby despite his injury.
“I had the operation on 18 March and it was a four-month injury … I’ve got a month or so left. I don’t have any issues, no pain and it’s just about trying to get the strength back and make contact,” Kitshoff said.
“The rehab process has been going great.
“I’m feeling good and have a lot of mobility back. I’m starting to build my upper body strength again, so I’m feeling confident.
“It’s now about trying to get the strength back and be match ready for when the season starts again.”
While South African rugby lovers will have to remain patient before they see their own sides in action again, New Zealand will return to play this weekend in the form of their own domestic Super Rugby Aotearoa.
Kitshoff, as much as anyone, is eager to watch live rugby again.
“I can’t wait,” he said.
“I think being deprived; absence has made the heart grow fonder. We miss the sport so much and just to be able to see it on TV again with two teams going flat out at each other … I am very excited.”
