LIONS' Ruan Venter will spend the rest of this year undergoing rehabilitation, after sustaining a five-to-nine-month injury.
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We know sport can be cruel, but spare a thought for the unfortunate Ruan Venter — instead of the Lions flank soaking up being part of the Springbok alignment camp in Cape Town, he has been in hospital recovering from knee surgery.
On Wednesday Venter updated his supporters with an Instagram post from his hospital bed.
He said, “Extremely disappointed to end my season like this. Difficult to understand why, but I know that God has a bigger plan. Very thankful to have undergone successful surgery, and I can’t wait to get this journey started. This is only the beginning!”
The 23-year-old Venter injured his ACL, MCL, and the meniscus of his right knee just four minutes into his team’s 31-7 defeat to Leinster in their URC final round fixture in Dublin. He will spend the rest of this year undergoing rehabilitation, as it is a five-to-nine-month injury.
The rugged flank last week returned to South Africa for medical investigation, and surgeons confirmed the worst, although Venter had expected bad news. When the injury occurred, he lay prone on the pitch in agony for some time before a cart took him off, in some discomfort.
That Leinster match and last week’s game down the road from Dublin in Limerick, against Munster, have taken a heavy toll on the Lions. Scrumhalf Morne van den Berg is back in Johannesburg with a bicep injury, and Richard Kriel failed an HIA against Munster.
He could be ruled out for next week’s quarter-final, back in Dublin against Leinster, while it is touch and go whether captain Francke Horn and centre Henco van Wyk will recover in time from injuries.
The influential pair have stayed in Ireland, where the team is preparing for the big playoff at the Aviva Stadium.
The Lions have also lost prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye to a doping suspension.
Venter was capped by Rassie Erasmus in the 2024 Test against Portugal in Bloemfontein, and would have been in the Springbok coach’s plans for the busy 2026 international schedule.
The robust Venter is a fraction short of 2m in height and is a muscular 118kgs, making him an exceptional ball-carrying and tough-tackling loose forward.