Schickerling faces three-month lay-off
Stormers head coach Robbie Fleck confirmed that the 22-year-old suffered a torn bicep in the Stormers 28-45 loss to the Crusaders in Christchurch in Round Three.
"They [medical team] still have to give us a definitive answer, but at the moment they are saying he will be out for up to 12 weeks.
"He has torn a bicep and they will do more investigations [tests] when he gets back home, but it doesn't look good for him.
"We will probably be expecting him back towards the end of the tournament."
Fleck said Schickerling will be sorely missed after his standout performances so far this year.
"He was outstanding on the weekend against three All Black locks.
"Him and Cobus Wiese were standout players. The last couple of games he [Schickerling] has played exceptionally well his work rate and his brutality around the park was really outstanding, so we are going to miss him."
This latest injury setback has left the Stormers thin up front ahead of their clash against the Highlanders on Friday.
Flank Cobus Wiese (shoulder) is doubtful for Friday's clash.
"He [Wiese] is hurting. He is a bit sore at the moment and he didn't train today [Monday], so we haven't been able to really decide on a team because we have a few injuries. Kobus van Dyk is also carrying an injury and also Pieter Steph [du Toit].
"He [Du Toit] has passed his concussion test, but obviously we just need to monitor him through the week until he finishes all his tests.
"We will be a little bit thin, but I guess that Pieter-Steph and Kobus van Dyk are looking more likely to be passed fit, whereas maybe Cobus Wiese is going to struggle.
"We will give him [Wiese] as much time as possible to recover because he was such a dominant force on the weekend and it will be good to have him again," Fleck added.
By Warren Fortune
@FortuneWarren
@rugby365com
