Frans Malherbe is central to the Stormers’ long-term plans, even though the timing of his return to play is a grey area.
Stormers boss John Dobson has calmed fears that veteran Springbok tighthead Malherbe is considering retirement, despite the two-time World Cup winner being unavailable since April with a serious lower back injury that has kept him out of bounds as the Springboks launch into 2025.
Malherbe’s last appearance came in the Stormers’ 29-17 win at Scarlets in March, soon after which Dobson declared a disaster in revealing his injury.
DOBSON: Frans loss is a disaster
Speaking on Friday, Dobson stressed that the focus is on giving the 34-year-old all the time he needs to make a full recovery.
“There’s no pressure to hurry him onto the field,” said Dobson, confirming that the 76-Test prop is expected to opt for the most conservative, non-surgical of three remedial options available to him.
“The approach with Frans is to give him as much time as possible, and my feeling is that it’s going to be a long time. He’s sore and he can’t play and we want to take pressure off him and see if he can heal his body naturally.
“Hopefully, he’ll knock on our door in February or March next year and want to start playing again.
“I don’t think he’s playing in the foreseeable future, but I don’t think he’s about to call it quits or anything like that. It’s just conservative while he decides, ‘Is there a surgical procedure or is it going to get better by itself’?’”
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