'It's going to be months, not weeks' - Rowntree delivers Snyman injury verdict
INJURY TROUBLE: South Africa's RG Snyman holds aloft his medal following victory over New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup 2023 final. Pic: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.
RG Snyman is facing another lengthy spell on the sidelines, Munster boss Graham Rowntree admitted on Tuesday as the South African World Cup winner prepares for surgery later this week.
Snyman, 28, has played just 10 times for Munster since his summer 2020 move from Japan’s Honda Heat, rupturing an ACL in a knee on his debut against Leinster that August and suffering another serious knee injury three games into his return to action in October 2021.
The 6ft 9ins lock’s comeback from that second knee reconstruction came eight months ago and Snyman played his way back into Springbok contention with a run of games to help Munster lift the BKT URC title last May.
The 2019 World Cup winner was reintegrated back into South Africa’s “Bomb Squad” of forward replacements, this time featuring Munster team-mate Jean Kleyn, and picked up a second winner’s medal when the Boks defeated New Zealand in last month’s final in Paris.
Yet that success came at a cost for the second row, who now requires surgery on a chest/shoulder problem he sustained at Stade de France.
“It’s going to be months not weeks, I’m not going to lie,” Rowntree said on Tuesday.
“The exact time we won’t know until we get the surgeon’s report. He has it done this Friday, I believe, in South Africa. He’s not able to travel for a period after that.
“I know Kleyn will be back in on November 20, I’m not sure whether RG will be back then but it won’t be long after that. But we’ll see what the surgeon finds after he’s been in, that will give us more clarity on how long he’s going to be out but it’s going to be months not weeks.”
Rowntree acknowledged the personal impact another period of rehabilitation will have on Snyman, adding: “What can I say, horrible. He’s done it before, he’s come back from injury before and shown immense mental resilience.
“He’s got a good support group around him. We’ll see what the surgeon finds.”
Snyman’s blow comes just days after Rowntree delivered a similarly gloomy assessment of fly-half Joey Carbery’s timeframe of recovery from the wrist injury he sustained against Benetton nine days ago, the head coach suggested the Irish international faced “a few months” out of action.
Yet the Munster head coach was more upbeat on wing Calvin Nash’s likelihood of an immediate return to duty having injured his knee during a two-try man-of-the-match performance against Dragons in Cork last Saturday night.
Nash has not been ruled out of this Friday night’s visit to Kingspan Stadium, Belfast, when Munster will put their unbeaten start to the new campaign on the line against Ulster.
“He’s trained today, he’s out there now, we’ll see how he comes through, how he recovers from today but certainly the knee’s not as bad as it was Saturday night.
“He didn’t do much on it yesterday but we’ll see how he comes through.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
