Springboks star ‘not moving’ yet after successful surgery on horror injury but is on the ‘road to recovery’
Elrigh Louw is on the road to recovery after a horrific injury that threatened his career.
The Bulls and Springboks have received a positive update on star loose forward Elrigh Louw after fears over a potential career-ending injury.
Louw suffered the leg injury in the Bulls’ 35-22 victory over the Lions in January and his club were unable to provide clarity for several days due to the swelling.
Initially, it was feared that the 25-year-old would not be able to play rugby again this year before doubts over his career quickly arose.
Massive operation
Earlier this week, Bulls boss Jake White provided a positive update on the Bok loose forward who had broken his leg and had severe swelling around his knee.
“The specialist is very confident that he can sort it out and that is good news,” White told News24. “It’s a massive operation, but I spoke to (Bulls hooker) Akker van der Merwe, and he went through the same thing.
“In fact, his was worse and he had also broken his leg, but Akker is still playing and running, so there’s no reason why, with today’s medical advances, that they can’t get Louw back to normal.
“We won’t rush it, and we’ll give him as much time as he needs, and he’s done everything possible to get the swelling down.
“They don’t want too much swelling and blood around the area so that they can operate properly.”
Positive update
Dr. Bradley Gelbart, who operated on Malcolm Marx after his World Cup-ending knee injury, performed the surgery on Louw on Tuesday with Louw’s father Dawid providing a further update on his son.
“The specialist is very satisfied with the operation, he is very positive,” Louw told Rapport.
“Elrigh is now on the road to recovery but he is in a lot of pain and is managing it with plenty of ice and is not moving at all.”
The severity of Louw’s injury meant that he was not invited to the Springboks alignment camp despite being a regular feature in Rassie Erasmus’ matchday 23 last year.
He initially missed out on the squad for the July internationals but an impressive cameo off the bench against Portugal earned him a spot in the Rugby Championship squad.
He earned his first start for the Boks against Australia in South Africa’s opening game and would go on to feature regularly throughout the Rugby Championship and played all four of the November Tests.
Louw earned 10 caps in total in 2024 including four starts.
