Lions captain Warren Whiteley will not be fit in time to face the Stormers on Saturday and is likely to miss South Africa’s upcoming Tests against Wales and England.

The Lions had been hopeful that Whiteley would regain fitness from a cruciate ligament injury to face the Stormers at Newlands. But according to Sport24, a Lions official confirmed that Whiteley is still three weeks away from returning to action, effectively ruling him out of the Boks’ four Tests against Wales and England.

‘He’s still out for two to three weeks,’ the spokesperson said.

Coach Rassie Erasmus is scheduled to announce a 40-man Bok squad for the upcoming Tests on Saturday after the game at Newlands.

Whiteley was one of the candidates for the captaincy, but his bid to regain that leadership role appears to be over for now.

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