Botha set to boost Bulls after bye in Super Rugby

The Bulls are hoping to be able to call on fit-again flanker Arno Botha when they face the Western Force in a Super Rugby match in Pretoria next Saturday.

The Bulls have a bye this week which will give their injured players more time to recover from injures.

Botha played off the bench for the Blue Bulls in the Vodacom Cup over the weekend.

The rest will also result in a break for Callie Visagie (ribs), Lappies Labuschagne (SC joint) and Jacques-Louis Potgieter (hamstring), who will all again train next Monday.

The long-term injury list remains the same, but Burger Odendaal is now only two weeks away from returning to action, following a knee injury.

The rest of the long-term casualties are Duncan Matthews (knee, September), Flip van der Merwe (pectoral, April), William Small-Smith (foot, two months), Pierre Schoeman (ACL knee, July), Bandise Maku (pectoral, August), Werner Kruger (ankle, 10 weeks) and Carlo Engelbrecht (ankle, 10 weeks).