Montpellier provide an injury update for Handre Pollard
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Montpellier have confirmed that Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard has ruptured anterior cruciate ligaments and that he will be sidelined for 'several months'.
The club confirmed the news in a short release on Monday where they wished the World Cup winner well for his recovery. Handre Pollard had to be stretchered from the field in the second half of Montpellier's 41-14 loss to Racing 92 on Friday and while Montpellier did not put an expected timeline on his return, Pollard will miss the Springboks Rugby Championship campaign.
Pollard suffered the injury in the 50th minute as he came across to make a tackle on Racing 92 replacement Baptiste Chouzenoux. The 26-year-old immediately grasped at his leg after making the tackle as play continued with Finn Russell sending a cross-kick to Antonie Classen to score out wide.
Pollard was taken straight to hospital after the game.
‘Generally when someone leaves on a stretcher it’s never very good despite the fact there can be different degrees of knee injuries,’ Montpellier coach Xavier Garbajosa said after the game.
‘He’s left for hospital,’ he added.
The flyhalf joined Montpellier after guiding the Springboks to Rugby World Cup glory in Japan last year.
Pollard has had an injury-stricken career to date as he missed a number of test matches between the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cup and featured amputation in 2016 after his shoulder became badly infected after an operation.
Back in 2016, he also suffered a knee injury while he returned from the 2019 Rugby World Cup with a fractured eye socket.
Lack of game time and an ever growing injury list could see a very different Springbok squad feature in the Rugby Championship https://t.co/fCknC5mHyl
— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) September 14, 2020