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Jean Kleyn's season ending injury could be worse than first thought
By Ian Cameron
An injury for Springbok second row Jean Kleyn - which has already ended his Munster season - could be worse than originally thought it has been revealed.
Munster confirmed back in January that the lock had opted to undergo surgery on a knee issue and will not return to play this season.
However, the Rugby World Cup winner injury woes may since his initial diagnosis in January may have deepened according to RTE pundit Bernard Jackman, who was commentating on the Bulls versus Munster match in Pretoria this afternoon.
Jackman - known for his inside lines on Irish rugby - revealed that the injury could be worse than previously feared, prompting Kleyn to travel to America for specialist consultation.
Originally injured in a match against Leinster in November, the prognosis means Kleyn could also potentially miss parts of next season too.
It's really poor news for Munster, who will lose fellow Springbok giant RG Snyman to Leinster next season.
There are also obvious concerns about his ability to return in time for the Springboks' July Tests against Ireland. Kleyn - who has also donned the Irish jersey in the past - faces a prolonged recovery that casts doubt on his availability for the upcoming international fixtures.
Kleyn began his professional career with the Stormers in Super Rugby before moving to Munster in 2016.
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Latest Comments
Looking forward to Canterbury's game. Great line up. Isaac Hutchinson at 15 has had a stunning first season for Canterbury. Another of other promising players introduced this year. 100 game Mitchell Drummond at halfback in great form last week.
Go to commentsIn order to have a fairer comparison you need to include the European Champions Cup game minutes played. Without them the SRP numbers are relatively overstated. I probably would also include Challenge Cup knock out stages minutes as well. For a number of clubs in the North these are the key games, not just the league, and the high profile players play in most of them if fit.
My other caveat on the piece, which was very interesting, is a feeling that the underlying assumption is that the international game has to be presented with "fresh" players and thus the next tier down has to accommodate to this. I would challenge this. The growth markets are club/provincial competitions and Test rugby needs to capped at a maximum of 10 or 11 games per team per season/year. Otherwise you don't have enough time to deliver a strong enough narrative in markets where rugby has many competitors and there is nowhere for franchise teams from emerging markets ( Spain , Georgia, Fiji, Chile etc.) to develop experience and depth - eventually being able to compete properly at RWC etc.
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