Du Preez under the knife today

Bulls scrumhalf Fourie du Preez will undergo surgery on Tuesday morning to repair a three-year-old shoulder injury, ruling him out of rugby for the next six months.

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Du Preez met Bok coach Peter de Villiers yesterday to fill him in on the procedure. While the coach was sympathetic, he was upset that arguably his most important player would be unavailable for the entire 2010 international programme.

Du Preez has a rotator cuff tear in his right shoulder, an injury that plagues him almost every time he takes the field.

"I've had this injury since the 2007 World Cup," Du Preez told The Times. "If I want to play at the World Cup next year I need to have this operation done sooner rather than later.

"I had a very good chat with the coach and we talked about the way forward. It's not ideal, but injuries never are.

"The shoulder is gradually getting worse to the point where I come off at the end of games in a lot of pain. Every time I take contact it hurts.

"During the Super 14 I had a couple of check-ups with the radiologist to monitor the state of the injury, and we decided if I don't do something now, I won't be ready to perform next year.

"Ultimately you want to be in your best shape at the World Cup and I assessed all the possibilities and decided this is the way to make sure I'm in my best condition in New Zealand. If I continued playing without going for the operation I would not even make the Springbok team this time next year."

Du Preez admitted he was unsure what to expect when facing six months of rehabilitation. He's been relatively lucky on the injury front with a broken hand being the most serious injury, which kept him out of the game for two months.

"We cannot replace Fourie, but we'll look at the next guy in line and alter our game plan according to his strengths," De Villiers said.

Ricky Januarie had a strong game during the Boks' 34-31 win over Wales in Cardiff on Saturday and is likely to retain his starting place against France at Newlands this weekend.

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