Cheetahs await hamstrung flyer

The Cheetahs are sweating over the fitness of star flyer Willie le Roux ahead of their all-South African derby encounter with the Bulls on Saturday.

Le Roux, who attended the Springbok training camp in Durban and will only return to Bloemfontein late on Tuesday, has been having problems with a hamstring niggle.

Le Roux, who left the field in the 64th minute of the 34-22 win over the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth last Saturday, sat out training in Durban the last three days.

"We will only know on Wednesday where we are in terms of his injury," Cheetahs assistant coach Hawies Fourie said, when asked about the condition of the wing.

For a player in his position a hamstring injury is of particular concern, as they tend to become troublesome and can sometimes linger.

"He has struggled with it for the last couple of weeks," Fourie told this website.

The advantage is that there is only this week's encounter with the Bulls ahead of the June break.

"However, we also don't know about his chances of Bok selection, which will also play a role," the Cheetahs' backline mentor said.

"We will evaluate him Wednesday and make a call for he weekend."

The Cheetahs do have some quality back-up in Sevens Springbok Rayno Benjamin and Bok tourist Raymond Rhule.

"We do have quality players to fall back on, but Willie [le Roux] is a key player in our team," he said, adding: "We will give him the best possible chance to recover and if we have to wait till Friday we will do that."

The rest of the Cheetahs team that featured in the win over the Kings are fit and ready to go.

By Jan de Koning