ULSTER’S DIRECTOR OF rugby Les Kiss says the province will ‘stand by’ Springbok Marcell Coetzee after he was ruled out for nine months following knee surgery.
The 26-year-old flanker last week went under the knife back in South Africa because of a laxity in his previously repaired ACL, and will now miss the rest of the season.
Coetzee, whose contract at Kingspan Stadium runs until the end of the 2018/19 season, has been plagued by knee injuries since his arrival at the start of last term and has only featured five times for Ulster
After playing in the province’s opening game of the current campaign last month, Coetzee’s absence remain shrouded in uncertainty with Ulster moving to downplay concerns over the severity of the problem until confirmation on Friday that he underwent surgery.
Speaking after the Champions Cup victory over Wasps in Belfast, Kiss said the club would honour the 28-time capped South African international.
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“It’s been tough for Marcell and we’ve worked hard to try and get the best result for him and that’s ended up being surgery,” he said.
“He won’t be around for eight or nine months in terms of playing but we’ll stick by him. He’s here and he has a contract with us so we’ll stick by him.”
When asked if Ulster would look to bring in a medical joker to offset the significant loss of Coetzee, Kiss said they weren’t looking ‘at this stage.’
Meanwhile, the northern province will continue to be without Jared Payne for this week’s trip to La Rochelle as they err on the side of caution in reintegrating the Ireland international back into competitive rugby.
Jared Payne remains unavailable. Photosport / Bruce Lim/INPHO
Photosport / Bruce Lim/INPHO / Bruce Lim/INPHO
Payne hasn’t played since leaving the Lions tour early due to migraines and his return has been pushed back by Ulster as the medical staff continue to monitor his progress.
“It’s a tough one for Jared at the moment,” Kiss continued. “If you look at last year he had the kidney and was stop start with his calf, so we just want to make sure it’s right before we make those decisions and he’s working with a lot of people.
“He’s been cleared of any real issues, it’s just about getting a few little things right so we can get into contact properly and not have any response to it. He’s training with us, we’re working through contact levels, but it’s important we don’t rush it. It’s too important for him and we don’t want to jump early and not have his services later on in the year.
“It’s important that we make that wise decision about when he reintegrates with playing. Where that is, I can’t give you a true answer, but I don’t think it’ll be this week.”
Kiss was unable to definitely say if Rory Best will come back into the frame for the round two clash against La Rochelle but the province are hopeful of having Jean Deysel and John Cooney fully fit for the weekend after going off with knocks during Friday’s win over Wasps.
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'We'll stick by him': Ulster vow to support Coetzee after long-term injury setback
ULSTER’S DIRECTOR OF rugby Les Kiss says the province will ‘stand by’ Springbok Marcell Coetzee after he was ruled out for nine months following knee surgery.
The 26-year-old flanker last week went under the knife back in South Africa because of a laxity in his previously repaired ACL, and will now miss the rest of the season.
Coetzee, whose contract at Kingspan Stadium runs until the end of the 2018/19 season, has been plagued by knee injuries since his arrival at the start of last term and has only featured five times for Ulster
After playing in the province’s opening game of the current campaign last month, Coetzee’s absence remain shrouded in uncertainty with Ulster moving to downplay concerns over the severity of the problem until confirmation on Friday that he underwent surgery.
Speaking after the Champions Cup victory over Wasps in Belfast, Kiss said the club would honour the 28-time capped South African international.
“It’s been tough for Marcell and we’ve worked hard to try and get the best result for him and that’s ended up being surgery,” he said.
When asked if Ulster would look to bring in a medical joker to offset the significant loss of Coetzee, Kiss said they weren’t looking ‘at this stage.’
Meanwhile, the northern province will continue to be without Jared Payne for this week’s trip to La Rochelle as they err on the side of caution in reintegrating the Ireland international back into competitive rugby.
Payne hasn’t played since leaving the Lions tour early due to migraines and his return has been pushed back by Ulster as the medical staff continue to monitor his progress.
“It’s a tough one for Jared at the moment,” Kiss continued. “If you look at last year he had the kidney and was stop start with his calf, so we just want to make sure it’s right before we make those decisions and he’s working with a lot of people.
“He’s been cleared of any real issues, it’s just about getting a few little things right so we can get into contact properly and not have any response to it. He’s training with us, we’re working through contact levels, but it’s important we don’t rush it. It’s too important for him and we don’t want to jump early and not have his services later on in the year.
“It’s important that we make that wise decision about when he reintegrates with playing. Where that is, I can’t give you a true answer, but I don’t think it’ll be this week.”
Kiss was unable to definitely say if Rory Best will come back into the frame for the round two clash against La Rochelle but the province are hopeful of having Jean Deysel and John Cooney fully fit for the weekend after going off with knocks during Friday’s win over Wasps.
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