Lood de Jager is set to be sidelined for at least six months after a second scan on Wednesday revealed his injury is worse than initially expected.

The Bulls confirmed on Monday that De Jager has been ruled out for four months with a torn pectoral muscle sustained in their recent game against the Sharks.

That meant he’ll miss the rest of Super Rugby and the Test series against England, but was expected to be fit in time for the second half of the Boks’ 2018 Rugby Championship campaign.

However, according to SuperSport.com, a second scan has revealed the injury is worse than the initial diagnosis, and that De Jager will now be out of action for at least six months.

De Jager will have surgery in Pretoria on Thursday, and while the best-case scenario is a return to action in November, he could potentially miss the rest of the 2018 season. 

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