Bulls fitness and injury report

SPRINGBOK rugby players Pierre Spies, Arno Botha, Handrè Pollard, Marcel van der Merwe and Adriaan Strauss all returned to the Vodacom Blue Bulls training camp last week.

This is according to fitness reports published on www.thebulls.co.za.

The Vodacom Blue Bulls squad assembled in Pretoria two weeks ago to prepare for this year’s Super Rugby season.

Spies and Botha re-joined the squad as well as fullback Jurgen Visser, who missed most of the Absa Currie Cup campaign with a foot injury.

Van der Merwe, who recovered from a knee injury also started training with the Vodacom Blue Bulls squad.

Burger Odendaal, Jaco Visagie, Grant Hatting, Dries Swanepoel and Jason Jenkins will all joined training on January 12 after they have recovered from their respective injuries.

Springbok lock and 2014 Vodacom Blue Bulls captain, Flip van der Merwe, is only expected back on April 15.

He recovered from a knee operation, but injured a pectoral muscle in pre-season. Props Basil Short and Hencus van Wyk will be back on February 28 after recent injuries.

Junior Springboks prop, Pierre Schoeman, is the only other player on the long term injury list and will be out for six months after sustaining a knee injury.

It seems like the Vodacom Blue Bulls aim to protect their Springbok assets with reports of Strauss, Pollard, Spies and Botha not playing in the Polokwane warm-up match.

The Bulls will face the Cheetahs in Polokwane as well as Saracens in London on January 31 before their start their Super Rugby campaign at home against the Stormers on February 14.