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Bongi Mbonambi reports 'successful' surgery after World Cup final injury
By Josh Raisey
South Africa hooker Bongi Mbonambi has confirmed that his surgery on his injured knee was a success, as he now faces a long spell on the sidelines.
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The 32-year-old only lasted a matter of minutes in the World Cup final before being forced off with an injury to his right knee. The injury came from an illegal clearout from All Blacks flanker Shannon Frizell, who was subsequently yellow carded by referee Wayne Barnes. This came after he ironically spent the week prior to the final with his left leg heavily strapped.
The Sharks front row had to watch the rest of the Springboks’ 12-11 victory from the sideline, but had the strength to charge onto the field in celebration. Following a couple of weeks of revelry, Mbonambi went under the knife this week, and he took to social media on Friday to confirm that the surgery was a success.
The hooker’s coach at the Sharks John Plumtree revealed this week the extent of his injury, and how long he is expected to be out of action for.
“Bongi Mbonambi and Vincent Koch both have knee injuries,” Plumtree revealed.
“Vincent will be back after three months, Bongi will be out longer, it could be the whole season. The rest of the Boks are good to go and looking forward to it, but I have left them alone during this enforced rest period. It was really important that they didn’t get a phone call from me, but next week they’ll be hearing from me and we’ll get them all back and see where they are individually.”
Despite this setback for Mbonambi, he signed off his post on social media in upbeat fashion, writing: “Thankfully I have a strong NECK,” alongside two medals, having started in the 2019 victory over England as well.
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The writer here ignores the fact that, following on from not taking the penalty kick, the All Blacks did manage to score a try a few minutes later. Not directly from the penalty awarded, but it is speculation to say that had they opted to take the koi they would have won. Even if they kicked it, which was no guarantee, they would still be trailing and would have had to start again at half-way.
Go to commentsI would be surprised if Sales Opoku Fordjour and Northampton’s Tommy Freeman are not in the team, Anthony Watson is also one that could go on the wing. One thing I must say is that the front 3 will get destroyed against a team like South Africa.
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