South Africa's preparations for Saturday's clash with New Zealand have been rocked by the news Bakkies Botha and Jaque Fourie will miss the rest of the Tri-Nations campaign through injury.
Lock Botha injured his knee and centre Fourie suffered a cracked cheekbone during the 63-9 win over Argentina at the weekend. Danie Rossouw and Frans Steyn have been drafted in as replacements.
'Following the match Bakkies Botha had a scan and he has ruptured his posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee," said team manager Andy Marinos.
'We will adopt a conservative management process which means Bakkies will not undergo surgery but will rather complete a rehabilitation process.
'Fourie had a head clash with the Argentina wing (Horacio Agulla). A scan has shown he has a depressed fracture of his cheekbone and he will undergo surgery before the end of the week which means he will be out for six weeks, post-surgery.
'Marinos added: 'Both players will be unavailable for the remainder of the Tri-Nations and we hope that Bakkies will be ready in time for the end-of-year tour to the UK.'
