WATCH: Pieter-Steph du Toit ruled OUT of Springboks v Wales Test

Pieter-Steph du Toit’s long-awaited return to the green and gold jersey has been put on hold after he was ruled out of Saturday’s first Test between the Springboks and Wales at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.

Du Toit, the 2019 World Rugby Player of the Year, arrived at the national camp from his Japanese side Toyota Verblitz with a shoulder problem.

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Du Toit, 29, suffered a similar injury in last year’s British & Irish Lions series.

The Springboks team will be named on Tuesday

He has only been medically cleared to resume contact training from Thursday – too late to make him eligible for selection for this weekend.

LIVE | SPRINGBOKS V WALES: 1ST TEST, LOFTUS VERSFELD – SATURDAY 2, JULY

As confirmed by The South African website, Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber will name his team on Tuesday, 28 June at 12:30.

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“Everyone is available for the Test, except Pieter-Steph, who’s still in his rehab phase,” Springbok assistant Deon Davids confirmed on Monday.

“We’ll make the best decisions for the team going forward.

“Pieter-Steph’s class is apparent, he was the best player in the world for a period. He and Duane (Vermeulen) play important leadership roles.

“But we need to see the glass as half-full. There are exciting youngsters you can give an opportunity to as well as versatile, experienced guys like Franco Mostert.

“Of course we’d have liked the continuity of a Pieter-Steph, but we can now broaden the base,” Davids concluded.

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The second and third Tests will take place in Bloemfontein and Cape Town, respectively, on Saturdays, 9 and 16 July.

Kick-off for all three Tests is at 17:05 and, as always, the best place to follow the action LIVE is on The South African website.

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