South Africa prop Jannie du Plessis has been ruled out of Saturday's Test against Italy in Padova with a hamstring injury.
Du Plessis left the field in the Springboks' 31-28 victory over England last Saturday after injuring his hamstring and knee.
"Fortunately Jannie's knee is fine but the scans confirmed our suspicion of a hamstring strain and he will not be able to play against Italy on Saturday," Springbok team doctor Craig Roberts said Monday.
Free-running full-back Willie le Roux, who injured his cheek bone against England, also went for scans on Monday, but the results were good and he has been cleared of any fractures.
"We'll manage Willie during training this week but he should be available to face Italy," said Roberts.
Coach Heyneke Meyer has called up Golden Lions prop Ruan Dreyer as cover for Du Plessis, with the Springboks also playing Wales on November 29 after opening their November Test series with a disappointing 29-15 loss to Ireland.
Source: AFP