The gloom over the New Zealand capital and indeed the Springboks following their uninspiring victory over Wales showed signs of abating.

The embrace of a sunnier disposition was not just encouraged by a few rays of sun, but also by the news that Victor Matfield and Jean de Villiers could be considered for selection as soon as the Springboks' clash next Thursday against Namibia in North Harbour.

Team doctor Craig Roberts declared them unavailable for 10 days.

"De Villiers has picked up a grade-one rib cartilage sprain. We anticipate he will be out for 10 days and we took him off the field more as a precaution than anything else. We didn't want to make it a lot worse if he took another knock on the injury.

"Victor Matfield is in a similar boat," Roberts said.

"He felt his hamstring tightening up and, with a long tournament ahead, we decided to pull him off to protect that. He will also need 10 days or so to get over that."

The Springboks will have to go into Saturday's match against Fiji with a reshaped second row, with Matfield's long-time lock partner Bakkies Botha still on the injured list. Roberts suggested a decision on Botha's availability for the rest of the tournament had yet to be taken.

"He's picked up an Achilles injury and it hasn't responded to treatment as well as we would have liked. We haven't made a decision," Roberts said.

Johann Muller is likely to partner Danie Rossouw in the second row on Saturday, while Gerhard Mostert, who was part of the Tri-Nations squad, is the most likely replacement for Botha should his tournament be over.

Former All Blacks scrumhalf Justin Marshall said that, if Botha was ruled out of the Rugby World Cup, it would be a considerable blow to the Springboks.

"It will be a huge setback because he has a presence. When you've got the ball and you know he's around, you're careful. From that point of view he influences certain decisions without actually doing anything," said Marshall.

But spare a thought for De Villiers who, despite a healthy haul of 70 test caps, has only played in two World Cup matches. He got injured in both.

"He keeps getting injured at the World Cup," said Jaque Fourie, De Villiers's centre partner.

"Maybe it's a good thing that it happened now because maybe that will enable him to come back and complete the competition. I'm sure the Almighty will put a protective hand over him."

Coach Peter de Villiers conceded the advanced age of his squad made post-match recovery a process that required patience.

"We always knew that what you gained in this team in terms of experience, you forfeited in terms of fitness in the week following a game. The older you get, the longer you take to get over the bumps and bruises."