EDINBURGH prop Pierre Schoeman will be out of action for four to six weeks after injuring a knee in his team’s PRO14 victory over Connacht last week.
The 26-year-old will miss some vital matches, including Edinburgh’s last two scheduled games in the PRO14 – away to Cardiff on Monday then away to Dragons the following Sunday – and their last-16 Champions Cup tie against Racing 92 in Paris at the start of next month.
Schoeman could also miss his team’s outstanding league game against Benetton, which was postponed a few weeks ago after a member of the Italian squad tested positive for Covid-19, and a European quarter-final should Edinburgh spring a surprise and get the better of Racing. He will, however, have a ready-made replacement in Boan Venter, who joined Edinburgh last month and came off the bench to replace his fellow-South-Africa in Connacht.
“It is really disappointing that we’ve lost Pierre for these four to six weeks,” assistant coach Calum MacRae said last night. “However, it could have been a lot worse, so we have to count our blessings on that.
“He’s basically twisted his knee. It was a bit of a scare at the weekend, because we felt it could have been quite a significant injury. So we’re really pleased it’s potentially only four to six weeks.”
Venter is set to be a key player for Richard Cockerill’s side next season, when Schoeman will become eligible to play for Scotland after living here for three years. The Connacht game was his second appearance as a replacement, and he is now set to make his first start against Cardiff.
“I thought Boan did a really good job,” MacRae continued. “We’ve recruited him because we see a huge amount of quality in him, and I thought he’s acquitted himself really well in the game time he’s had for the club so far. It’s obviously disappointing for Pierre, but it’s an opportunity for a quality player that we’ve recruited.”
Reports in France earlier this week said that Cockerill was on the short list for the head coach vacancy at Clermont-Auvergne, the club where he spent two seasons as a player. However, MacRae played down those reports, saying: “There’s not a lot I can say around speculation on that. It’s speculation at the moment, so it would be wrong for me to pass comment on that because objectively I don’t know whether it’s fact or fiction.”
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