Coetzee out for nine months; Planet Rugby

The Sharks have suffered a blow after it was confirmed that Marcell Coetzee will have knee surgery and has been ruled out for nine months.

Coetzee, 24, sustained the injury in his team's loss to the Lions in Durban on Saturday and will play no further part in Super Rugby 2016.

The Springbok flanker is set to join PRO12 side Ulster at the end of the season and they, like the Sharks, will be upset to hear the news.

 Bad news, he is a decent player.

Great Super 18 player- and a decent test player. He has a high work rate- even if he has never passed once in his career. This will effect the Sharks for sure

A very good player at the S15 level....a team building kind of guy. Not quite RC  test level, but you can't fault the effort.
Daniels will provide the Sharks some nous, he actually made a positive impact on Saturday.

 Sure - a better player than any of the loosies we had at the WC.

Brutal.
He had a knee injury last year that was not as significant as this but it kept him out of the WC, then I believe he went to play in Japan and now 7 games into Super Rugby he has a serious injury. They say nine months, but realistically its more like two years before you regain form and you never get back to where you were before. Some explosiveness and flexibility is always lost.
Only 24 - this is when he is supposed to be entering into his prime for SA rugby. Even apart from the injury he was headed to Ulster.
Our boys are starting too young, playing too much rugby double-timing it in Japan and have far too much emphasis placed on size and strength over athleticism and as a result are breaking down and experiencing significant career sapping injuries. We either lose our best most experienced players to overseas contracts or exile them after we've seen enough of them, run off our best coaches, have to deal with political interference and corruption at every level. 
Compare that to NZ where players are gradually worked into the setup, the focus is not so much in the gym but skills on the field and overall fitness, the best players are easily retained for domestic and international competition, there is no political interference and experienced coaches are cherished and respected and allowed to mentor. 

 Couldn't agree more. Coetzee looks very bulked over the kid who started 3 or 4 years back. And these guys play so much rugby.....up to 35 matches a year. With all that kinetic  energy flying around injuries are bound to happen. The game was less physical in the old days and probably half as much rugby was played, so the risks of serious injury are probably 3 times greater.
The kids around 20 just aren't  ready for this kind of punishment.