Faf de Klerk ruled out until January after ankle injury leaves Cheetahs short-handed

Faf de Klerk will play no further part in 2024 after the Toyota Cheetahs confirmed the Springbok scrum-half requires eight weeks to recover from an ankle injury sustained against Bayonne on 18 October.

The 35-year-old was hurt during the Cheetahs’ 29-27 defeat to Bayonne in the opening round of the EPCR Challenge Cup. In a statement, the club said de Klerk is “expected to return in early January, in time for Round 3 of the EPCR Challenge Cup, when the Toyota Cheetahs face Zebre Parma in Italy.”

The injury means de Klerk will miss the Cheetahs’ debut at their new European home ground — a second-round Challenge Cup fixture against Dragons at St Helen’s in Swansea on 13 December. Marco Jansen van Vuren and Erich Visser will cover at scrum-half during his absence.

De Klerk had been a key figure in the Cheetahs’ run to the Currie Cup semi-finals earlier this season, which preceded the start of their Challenge Cup campaign. He joined the South African franchise over the summer following a stint with the Canon Eagles in Japan.

A veteran of 60 Springbok caps, de Klerk was part of South Africa’s back-to-back Rugby World Cup winning squads in 2019 and 2023. He last appeared in a capped international in a 55-10 victory over Georgia in July 2023, though he did feature against the Barbarians in a non-cap match in June of this year.