Injuries expected to force Bulls coach Marais to make adjustments

Bulls coach Nollis Marais will have to make minor adjustments to his backline ahead of their Super Rugby trip to the Sharks at Kings Park on Friday.

Injured wingers Jamba Ulengo and Travis Ismaiel will miss the match and Marais is expected to name Warrick Gellant at No 15 and the Springboks duo of Jan Serfontein and Jesse Kriel at No 12 and 13 respectively when he announces the squad at Loftus on Wednesday.

Ulengo and Ismaiel are in the final stages of rehabilitation after knee injuries.

Other wingers in the team‚ Jade Stiglingh and Rabs Maxwane‚ have been ruled out because of the broken cheekbone and concussion they suffered respectively during the SuperSport Challenge match against the Lions last week.

For the highly promising Maxwane‚ this is the second concussion injury of the season and the medical team has given him a mandatory six-week layoff before returning to action.

In other injury news‚ Handre Pollard’s return has been put on hold for at least a week because of inflammation to his injured ankle.

Hanro Liebenberg‚ Edgar Marutlulle and Martin Dreyer remain long-term casualties.

- TimesLIVE