Northern Bulls and Springboks lock Victor Matfield will have cartilage removed from his knee Wednesday and miss three rounds of the Super 15 season.
The most capped South African with 121 Test appearances has been ruled out of fixtures against the Australian Queensland Reds and South African outfits Coastal Sharks and Western Stormers.
Matfield is expected to be available for the May 2 southern hemisphere inter-provincial championship fixture with Golden Lions at the Bulls’ Pretoria stadium Loftus Versfeld.
Although he will turn 38 in May, the 2.01-metre (six foot, seven inch) forward is considered a certainty for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England.
A couple of possible Springboks squad locks — Coastal Shark Pieter-Steph du Toit and Central Cheetah Lood de Jager — have been sidelined this season with long-term injuries.