Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber confirmed this morning that first-choice hooker Malcolm Marx would be unavailable for the remainder of Rugby World Cup 2023.

Without confirming exactly what the injury was, the Springboks confirmed that Marx had sustained a serious knee injury.

Speaking on the incident, Nienaber said, “First and foremost, we are extremely disappointed for Malcolm, and we wish him all the best in his recovery.

“He’s been working very hard to be in the best form possible for the tournament, and it’s tragic that his campaign has ended this way.

“As a team, we will remain in contact with him, as we do with all injured players such as Lukhanyo (Am), Handre (Pollard) and Lood (de Jager), and support him as much as we can through the recovery process.

“We have enough cover at hooker with Bongi (Mbonambi) and Deon (Fourie) in the squad, while Marco (van Staden) has also been training there and has been named on all our team sheets so far as a hooker option.

“We’ll assess our needs for the rest of the tournament and confirm who we are calling up as an additional player later this week.”

Marx's injury will now afford the Boks the opportunity to call up a replacement, with flyhalf Handre Pollard the most likely to rejoin the squad.