Bok fulcrum Lukhanyo Am eager to get fighting fit in World Cup season: 'It's a big year'

Lukhanyo Am was in the definite conversation for being the best player in the world in 2022 before his knee injury against Australia in the Rugby Championship.

The Sharks outside centre unlocked levels of his game previously unseen or imagined, notably in the Boks win and loss to the All Blacks in Mbombela and Ellis Park, respectively.

He returned to the field for the first time in the middle of December, when he came off the bench in the Champions Cup clash with Bordeaux Bègles at the Stade Chaban-Delmas.

Even in that cameo, when he replaced Francois Venter, who also went down with a leg injury, Am looked a cut above the rest, as the Sharks snuck a priceless win away in France at the first time of asking.

Now that his franchise is entering the home straight in the United Rugby Championship (URC) and Champions Cup, and the Springboks have zeroed their focus on France’s Rugby World Cup later this year, Am has become an increasingly important figure.

"It’s a big year. Starting with the Sharks, I want to get as much game time as I can and get to where I need to be," said Am this week.

"And to also play good rugby for the Sharks, so that I can get selected for the Springboks and be able to perform for the Boks.

"From a Boks point of view, I’ll try giving my best as much as I can. I don’t know if I’ll start where I left off or it will take some time to get to that point.

"But I just need to be physically ready and able and I’ll take it from there."

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It’s the first time Am has suffered a serious injury since the hand injury he suffered months before the Boks won the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, which was not serious enough to threaten his