Pat Lambie continue to remain on sidelines for Sharks

South Africa fly-half Patrick Lambie's return to professional rugby has been delayed further after he is yet to recover from the concussion he suffered in the opening game of the series against Ireland in Cape Town

The news was confirmed by the 25-year-old's Sharks head coach Gary Gold ahead of the must-win encounter against the Cheetahs.

Lambie suffered the head injury after involving in an airborne collision with Ireland flanker CJ Stander which ruled him out of the remaining two games in the series.

Apart from Lambie, Willie le Roux, Andre Esterhuizen and Dan du Preez are also ruled out of the game on Saturday at Growthpoint Kings Park while Garth April is slated for a return.

Odwa Ndungane, who was moved to fullback from wing revealed the issues Sharks faced during their 37-10 defeat to the Lions last weekend.

“We have played very much with the same backline all the way through Super Rugby with the same guys starting so it was obviously difficult when Pat, Willie and Andre were all suddenly unavailable and Paul [Jordaan] was injured in the opening minutes of the game.

“We are fortunate to have depth with guys like JP (Pietersen) who can play in different positions, but it was tough with all the changes.”

With 35 points from 13 games, the Sharks are placed in the third position in the South African group.