The Lions are expecting injured players MB Lusaseni, Ruan Combrinck, Harold Vorster, Ross Cronje and Martin Muller to be ready for the start of this year's Super Rugby competition against Japan's Sunwolves next month. Loose-forward Derick Minnie, who shattered his knee in April, isn't expected back until the middle of April, according to team doctor Rob Collins.Vorster was one of coach Johan Ackermann's most promising finds last year, but the centre tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) early in the Currie Cup, which ended his season prematurely.Collins said Vorster was doing agility training, after six months of rehabilitation, and will begin non-contact training next week - so, too, Combrinck.Lusaseni "tweaked his hamstring in a pre-season game", after recovering from an ankle injury, but is expected back by next week, according to Collins.A long, 18-team Super Rugby season is set to test the franchises, with injuries expected to play a bigger part than before.Teams will play across four continents, meaning longer flights and more battle-weary bodies.On paper, Ackermann's squad still has a youthful, Currie Cup feel to it. They have retained many of the players who took them close to a play-off spot last year and promoted a few promising youngsters.Provided they are well-conditioned, the likes of Rohan Janse van Rensburg and Lourens Erasmus should add steel to the Lions lineup...