Following South Africa's team announcement on Tuesday, their plans were quickly altered after starting prop, Ox Nche, suffered a severe injury in training which is set to leave him sidelined for "several weeks".
The Sharks loose-head picked up a pectoral muscle issue and will now miss a minimum of three games. This setback will leave South Africa without the 27-year-old for this weekend's match against Australia, next weekend's test against New Zealand, as well as the match against Argentina at the end of July.
He will be replaced by experienced international Steven Kitshoff as the Springboks look to generate some real momentum heading into the tournament and beyond.
Head coach Jacques Nienaber has made a statement via a South Africa Rugby Statement: "We are particularly sad for Ox because he's been working very hard in the last few months and making a great contribution on and off the field. We wish him a speedy recovery."
He then went on to add: "We've always emphasised the importance of being adaptable as a team and that will be particularly important this season with the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, World Cup warm-up games and the global showpiece itself coming up."
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