'The body is good' - Bok flyhalf Pollard ahead of earlier than expected return from knee injury

Injured Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard believes he could feature for the World Champions when they begin the end-of-year tour in November after getting a second opinion on his knee injury sustained last month.

Pollard's Rugby Championship participation ended in a 25-17 defeat to the Wallabies in Adelaide.

His injury necessitated Damian Willemse to fill the gap at a time when Pollard's recognised deputy, Elton Jantjies was also injured, before a personal scandal put paid to Jantjies' involvement with the Boks.

Willemse himself suffered a head knock against Argentina and the Boks went into the final game of the championship with Frans Steyn at No 10.

The 28-year-old was a travelling reserve for Saturday's East Midlands derby victory over Northampton Saints and is likely to make his debut earlier than expected for his new club, Leicester Tigers.

Speaking to Leicestershire Live, he said: "The body is good".

"I am really coming along nicely. [I'm] just trying to get as much done as possible. I've still got a couple of boxes to tick, from the initial diagnosis we had in Australia. I've come back to London and got a different one [opinion], which was a lot more positive. I'm working hard, it's really feeling good, so we will see how we go on from here."

"It's a little bit of a tear in the meniscus. It's a lot better than we originally thought and it's going really well.

"I should be good to go for the Autumn series."

The Boks begin their tour of the northern hemisphere on 5 November against Ireland. They will then play France, Italy and England, as well as midweek games against Bristol Bears and Munster.