White the Sharks have yet to announce it officially, other media outlets have confirmed a sad story I heard on Saturday night; Sharks lock Pieter-Steph du Toit has again ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and will spend the rest of the 2015 season on the sidelines.
It’s a bitter blow for the 22-year-old du Toit, who now looks certain to miss out on not only the remainder of the Sharks’ Super Rugby campaign, but on the Springbok season as well, including the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Despite boasting only a brace of caps in an international career that has thus far been blighted by injury, du Toit was widely considered a certainty for Heyneke Meyer’s squad this year, as undoubtedly THE form lock in South Africa, if not Super Rugby overall.
Thoughts of further participation in anything rugby related must now take a back seat, though, as the first priority is the surgery needed to restore the joint once more. A further serious injury to the same ligament that has already been surgically restored is, of course, no laughing matter and we will need to await the results of the doctors’ investigations to determine exactly what the prognosis is for the young star.
I’m sure you’ll all join me in sending our very best wishes to Pieter-Steph as he embarks on a long road to recovery that will require insane amounts of strength, both mental and physical. I urge you all to keep him in your thoughts – and prayers, if you believe in that sort of thing – over the days, weeks and months to come.
Tweet
Nooooo! Really hoped that he just tweaked it. Dammit! Good luck Piet, hope the knee heals well and fast.
So sad…really wish him the best of luck with surgery amd recovery. Stay strong psdt
Yoh that sucks so much.
Jeez man! Some players just have the worst luck with injuries and they always seem to be the really talented ones. PSdT, Alberts, JdV, etc.
All the best for a full recovery Piet!
Sad indeed. Good luck buddy. Hope it heals fast.
My heart pours out to him. May the good Lord give him strength during this difficult period. Our best player by far. My heart is really sore for him. I can’t believe this.
EFF YOU SEA KAY. Not good news at all.
@Spirit of Rugby (Comment 4) : It is more the guys that put their entire being on the line every single Saturday. Those are the guys that have the highest intensity, the heaviest work loads. While the stats don’t tell you everything that can tell you that these guys are some of the hardest workers on the field.
I’m truly gutted for him. He’s one of my favourite players. Wishing you all the best Piter-Steph. I hope and pray you’ll make a full recovery.
Piet just can’t catch a break. Wishing him a speedy recovery.
Really sad.
All the best young man – keep your head up!
All the best Pieter-Steph. You’ll be missed. Such a talent, but you’ll be back. Stay strong.
Gutted!
I was seriously hoping that it was a dead leg from the knee on knee clash. I feel for the guy and he was on such great form as well.
Get well soon big man!!!!
You will come back stronger and better, of that I’m sure.
I do believe in this sort of thing, so you will therefore be in my prayers 🙂
Man it was a pleasure to see PSdT roaming the field on Saturday…what a downer for the poor guy.
Get Schalk Burger to be his mental coach during recovery.
Get well soon and above all stay positive.
Such sad news. Can only imagine what the poor guy is going through right now. Keep that head held high Piet!
Ag no not again!! Ai.. All the best with recovery PSDT! We know you will come back stronger and fitter than ever.
PSDT was in such hungry form …be strong and most importantly be back!
Will keep on praying for some kind of miracle, such a sad thing for such a talented young guy.
If this is the same knee as was repaired then it is very serious indeed. It means there is a real weakness there so the docs will have to pull off something special for him to play again.
Lets hope the damage inside is not as bad as last time.
Very hard luck to a very good players and eventhough he is still young injuries like these especially recurring ones are tough to come back from and i hate to say it but perhaps a season abroad in the ‘softer’ japanese league will ready him for super rugby rather than throw him back into the most physical of competitions again…food for thought
Praying for you and thinking of you. All of your fans will be keeping you in their prayers and we hope that the Lord will keep you in his arms and heal you quickly.
Keep your mind busy and lean on your friends for support. Everyone is behind you on this and we look forward to seeing you back on the field soon. Good luck!
@SheldonK (Comment 22) : I hope that it isn’t as bad as last time.
An amazing talent and a very nice human being! I hope that they can pull off some amazing surgery and rehab and that he can feature for the Boks this year at the World Cup. He deserves it.
This is awful news! 🙁
All the best to you PSdT.
@ChrisS (Comment 24) : I think the world cup is not a possibility but just getting him able to play again will be a huge feat for the docs
Absolutely gutted!! *sigh* Sorry Piet! We are thinking of you, wish you a good recovery and all the strength and support you need!
Second thought: how long until Lewies is fit again? No. 5 lock stocks now very thin…
@pastorshark (Comment 28) : he’s still out for 5-7 weeks.
On a lighter note: Rob, you started an article with the title “Black Monday” with the word “White”…
@robdylan (Comment 29) : Nervous about depth in that case…what other no. 5 locks do we have in the cabinet?
@pastorshark (Comment 27) : Nobody wants to hear that now. Positive thoughts please. 🙁 😈
@pastorshark (Comment 30) : Well spotted….must’ve been the subconscious playing trick on Rob 😉
Such sad news…. All the best Pieter!!!
IF there is one thing we know about this team of ours, it is that they are able to pull together and excel during the tough times.
This injury to PSdT could be one such galvanizing event.
Rob, are these stories all pre-scan? Any chance it could be like the stories doing the rounds about Beast a few weeks back (that turned out not to be so serious)?
I feel absolutely gutted for PSDT. My man, I hope you can stay focused and stay strong. The entire rugby community from across the world is cheering you on. Sorry boet, but you’ll get through this. Believe in yourself, we believe in you! All the best!
@lostfish (Comment 8) : That’s true, but there are others who do the same amount and just seem to be made of tougher material or are simply luckier. Kieran Read comes to mind.
Nice to see all supporters agreeing on this thread,
Absolutely gutted! Best lock in SA, yes, better than Eben Etsebeth! I saw him possibly slotting in at 7 flank for Boks if Alberts were out injured, he is that good!
Hope you get well soon PSDT….and remember your roots! Would love to see you in a Stormers jersey 1 day!
AI FOK TOG!!!!
Bloody hell, poor guy – Strongs with the recovery PSDT!!
There is hope…please, please, please…
http://www.supersport.com/rugby/super-rugby/news/150316/Sharks_holding_thumbs_on_PieterSteph
Pray everyone…. even if you’re an atheist, pray anyway.
Today’s visit went better than expected and he’s seeing someone else tomorrow.
Black Monday indeed!!!!
@robdylan (Comment 44) : Please, please, please, please, please…
@pastorshark (Comment 46) : Seconded.
Rumour has it he’s in Cape Town for the op. Anybody got an idea of who the specialist is? Spike Erasmus perhaps?
@robdylan (Comment 44) : Roger that