Rassie Erasmus hopeful over Siya Kolisi injury

Springboks captain Siya Kolisi faces another injury concern after suffering a hamstring problem during South Africa’s 17-10 victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires.

Head coach Rassie Erasmus, however, remains hopeful the setback will not keep the influential flanker sidelined for long.

Siya Kolisi Suffers Fresh Hamstring Injury

Kolisi was forced from the field after approximately 25 minutes in his first Test appearance of the season.

The 35-year-old had only recently returned after a hamstring injury ruled him out of South Africa’s Nations Championship victories over England, Scotland and Wales.

Erasmus confirmed that Kolisi had injured the opposite hamstring but said the early indications were encouraging. Kolisi will undergo a scan to determine the extent of the damage.

“Siya injured his hamstring, the other hamstring, but it does not look too bad,” said Erasmus.

“I thought Siya was really dynamic with his carries and clean-outs".

Springboks Await Kolisi Injury Scan

The timing creates concern with South Africa preparing to face the All Blacks in the opening Test of their four-match series on August 22.

Should Kolisi be unavailable, Paul de Villiers could come into contention after impressing during the Nations Championship.

Erasmus Praises Springboks Character

South Africa were forced to defend for long periods late in the contest as Argentina searched for a comeback.

Erasmus admitted the performance lacked fluency but was pleased with the character and defensive effort displayed by a side featuring several players returning from injury or short of Test match minutes.

“We were not happy with the performance, but we were happy with the character the players showed,” he added.

“A number of them were short of game time returning from injury.

"Getting them through 80 minutes was always going to affect our fluency.”