Rudy Paige
Francois Hougaard
Vodacom Bulls halfback Rudy Paige and wing Francois Hougaard have been cleared to train with the team as they prepare for their Vodacom Super Rugby clash against the Chiefs in Rotorua on Saturday.
Paige had a knee ligament sprain and Hougaard a left quad contusion after their match against the Blues in Auckland, but will be available for the final tour match on New Zealand soil.
Irne Herbst and Piet van Zyl, who are both ruled out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury, heads the long-term injury list. Pierre Schoeman (knee), Bandise Maku (pectoral) and Ruan Steenkamp (knee) will all return on 31 July and Ryan Nell (knee) and Duncan Matthews (knee) on 31 August.
Good news on Paige and Hougie, although I hope they are not being rushed back into action too soon. Don’t know much about their injuries but knee ligament damage sounds nasty while a ‘dead leg’ can also take time depending on severity of any damage to the surrounding muscles, as it has been a few days since they picked up these injuries am assuming any bruising (Hougie) is not too serious and swelling if any had gone down before he was out on the training field. Will have to see how it affects his acceleration in the next game.