Eben Etzebeth's injuries are "all in the past" as he prepares for Springbok duty

The Springboks begin their season with a showcase match against the Barbarians in Cape Town on 28 June, the first of 15 matches for 2025. For a while, it seemed as though Etzebeth may not feature for the world champions.

The towering lock suffered a concussion during the Sharks' Champions Cup clash against the Exeter Chiefs and complications in recovery led to four months on the sidelines. He returned for a United Rugby Championship fixture in March, but suffered another setback when he strained his hamstring during the Springbok conditioning camp.

Etzebeth then featured in the road to the URC playoffs, but another headknock in training ruled him out of the semifinals against the Bulls.

However, Etzebeth has now given himself a clean bill of health heading into the challenging run of Test matches that include two against the All Blacks in New Zealand as well as France and Ireland up north.

"I've recovered from everything, it's all in the past," the 33-year-old told the press this week.

"I didn't have a good run with the Sharks with an injury and a concussion that kept me out for about four and a half months.

"It wasn't ideal, but I recovered and got a few games with the Sharks at the back-end of the season. And then suffered a small setback at training just before the semifinal, which is a minor one.

"But I'm back in training and excited for the Springbok season ahead. You can look at it in two ways - either negative or positive. I try to look at things in life positively."

Given the injuries, the double World Cup winner has played just four matches this year. But his time off the pitch may prove beneficial going forward.  

"It's not ideal that I didn't play as much rugby for the Sharks as I wanted to this season, but the body is resting up a bit.

"We play week in and week out, the guys that aren't injured. You get bruised up, you get battered. You haven't recovered on a Tuesday after a game.

"You get time off [when you are injured] with the family, but it's not like you go away and do nothing. You do rehab, you for example work on a shoulder that's been niggling in the past, you get that back to full strength.

"Your whole body can recover nicely. You can get strong again for when you play again. So it's negative, I'm not playing, I'm not on the field, not maybe match sharp. But there are lots of positives, like family time and getting your body strong again."

READ MORE: Wallabies announce 36-player squad ahead of international season