Lions centre Howard Mnisi has been ruled out of rugby for nine months with a knee injury.
The specialist midfielder picked up the injury in the 13th minute of the Lions’ opening Super Rugby clash of the 2017 season against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
The Lions won the opener 28-25 thanks to two tries by Rohan Janse van Rensburg and a seven-point penalty try against the Cheetahs’ sole try by Raymond Rhule.
Mnisi was replaced with Harold Vorster, himself a regular on the sidelines last year having also suffered knee ligament damage. Vorster will now be the favourite to fill Mnisi’s boots, but coach Johan Ackermann will also be able to call on several other centres in the Lions squad.
Lionel Mapoe, who played on the wing against the Cheetahs, prefers outside centre, while Jacques Nel is also a promising midfielder of the future.
The Lions will spend plenty of time in the coming week working on their attacking play, which let them down against the Currie Cup champions, ahead of facing the Australian outfit, the Waratahs at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The Cheetahs, who picked up a losing bonus point on Saturday, host the Bulls, who lost to the Stormers at Newlands in the opening round of the 2017 season.