WP, Stormers to stand by Kade Wolhuter after horrific injury: 'The kid was in tears'

When 21-year-old Western Province and Stormers flyhalf Kade Wolhuter fell to the turf at the Danie Craven Stadium on Tuesday, writhing in pain, he knew he was in serious trouble.

Everyone did.

The medical team rushed to his aid, and before long, the worst was confirmed. During a routine training session ahead of Friday's Currie Cup clash against the Pumas in Nelspruit, Wolhuter twisted awkwardly and suffered an ACL tear in his right knee that will see him sidelined for at least nine months.

It gets even worse: This was Wolhuter's second ACL rupture in as many years.

In 2021, with the world his oyster and the South African rugby community paying serious attention, Wolhuter tore the ligaments in his left knee in the Stormers' Rainbow Cup opener against the Sharks in Cape Town.

That, in isolation, was a devastating blow to a youngster who had been picked to play in the 'Green' v 'Gold' trial match put together by Springbok boss Rassie Erasmus in 2020.

The road to recovery since the injury in 2021 has been long, and Stormers coach John Dobson had only just started to feel that his young playmaker was approaching something resembling his best when Tuesday's injury hit.

If the 2021 blow was devastating, this one is almost tragic.

Wolhuter now faces further surgery, another year out and an even more testing rehabilitation.

"It was a horrible, horrible injury," Dobson said on Thursday after naming the Stormers side to face Benetton in the United Rugby Championship in Stellenbosch on Friday night.

"He went down and just started screaming, and I think he knew right away that it wasn't good. He was just getting his confidence back, starting to flatten up in how he was attacking, because he was very deep when he came back from the