The hulking blindside flanker sat out training in Cardiff on Tuesday morning and according to forwards coach Matt Proudfoot he will be given until Thursday to prove his fitness and availability for selection.
“I am not a medical doctor so I don’t know what the correct terms are but Willem sustained a knock to the neck against Italy and was unable to train today,” said Proudfoot.
Whereas before the England game the injury might have been see as a major blow by the Bok management, it appears there has been a shift in thinking now that the chances of making this a successful tour have died in the soft sands of Twickenham and Florence.
Head coach Allister Coetzee said on Monday that he was intending making changes for the Welsh game, and Proudfoot confirmed that the Alberts injury could have the silver lining of presenting the Boks with an opportunity to grow depth in a key area.
Of course Oupa Mohoje, who came on as a replacement in the defeat to Italy, would be an option to replace Alberts, but Proudfoot did not mention Mohoje first when asked about the options at a media conference on Tuesday.
Instead he mentioned the potentially exciting young Sharks loose-forward Jean-Luc du Preez.
“We actually have some great options, and Jean-Luc is definitely someone we are looking at in that position,” said Proudfoot.
He also mentioned the Cheetahs loose-forward Uzair Cassiem, who replaced the injured Roelof Smit in the tour squad after the opening game against the Barbarians, but it would be Du Preez who would most likely fit the prototype of what the Boks would be looking for as a replacement for Alberts.
The young Sharks flanker has the mongrel that was missing against Italy, and there is a need for the Bok back row to be a lot more physical against Wales than they were last week.
