Boost for Sharks and Boks as Eben Etzebeth nears long-awaited comeback

The 33-year-old has been stuck on the sidelines since last December after he sustained a head injury during the Sharks' Champions Cup victory over Exeter Chiefs.

Since then, the Springboks' most capped player has been battling concussion with his return being regularly delayed due to the symptoms not abating.

However, Sharks director of rugby Neil Powell has revealed that the experienced second-rower is likely to be part of the Durban-based outfit's touring party for their matches against Edinburgh and Ulster over the next two weeks.

"I believe Eben will be back for the match against Edinburgh. He's on target for that," Powell told Rapport's sports podcast.

Much has been said and written about Etzebeth's concussion issue in recent weeks.

In February, the Sharks issued an injury update that stated that Etzebeth has "suffered a return-of-symptoms of his recent concussion".

Adding: "The Sharks take this injury very seriously and player welfare remains our top priority. Eben is being managed by concussion specialists. He will be cleared to return once they are fully satisfied that his injury has completely resolved."

Early in March, Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus stressed that it's important not to rush Etzebeth back into action but also revealed that he had consulted a "concussion guru" on the ongoing issue.

"I actually drove through to Stellenbosch the other day to meet with Dr Pierre Viviers, the concussion guru, to just get a proper catch-up so I could also understand the concussion setup again," he told reporters at a press conference in Cape Town.

"When a guy is totally concussion-free, he starts from a clean sheet again... and that's what we always want.

"So, if a guy gets a normal concussion in a game and he fails the HIA protocols, then we will never bring a guy back too early.

"Eben must just get to that stage now where they say he is concussion-free."

Since then, Sharks head coach John Plumtree has been reluctant to expand on Etzebeth's ongoing concussion problem and said after one training session in March: "I am too scared to tell you anything positive about Eben as every time I have done that before and raised my hopes we have ended up going backwards again."

However, it looks like Etzebeth has finally returned to full fitness and is set to return to action along with fellow Springbok stars Aphelele Fassi, Lukhanyo Am and Grant Williams.

It's great news for the Sharks and the Boks but even greater news for Etzebeth and his family.

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