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White sweats on Jean de Villiers

Springbok coach Jake White is sweating on the fitness of center Jean de Villiers before South Africa leave for the World Cup on Monday.

White is also hoping Northern Bulls winger Akona Ndungane will recover in time to climb on the plane.

De Villiers and Ndungane are both nursing injuries, picked-up during the 'Boks' warm-ups game against Namibia and Connacht respectively.

They are the only two injury concerns for the 'Bok management team.

White and his World Cup party have already lost star loose forward Pierre Spies, who withdrew from the squad a few weeks ago after coughing up blood on the training ground.

Spies was later diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism in his lungs.

The Northern Bulls No. 8, however, is seeking a fourth opinion on his "illness" and is looking to play provincial rugby in the coming weeks. He believes he has been cured of the illness.

The loss of de Villiers would be a further massive blow to the 'Boks' chances of winning the World Cup. The experienced No. 12 is seen by many as the creative genius in midfield for White's team.

Both de Villiers and Ndungane will undergo fitness tests today before the team's farewell banquet in South Africa on Sunday.

"It's up to the medical team to make the call," de Villiers said on Wednesday. "They'll have to decide what is best for the team and what is best for me."

"I'm feeling good though and confident I'll be on the plane. I started running on Tuesday and didn't feel any discomfort. But I'll be fighting hard to be fit for the opener against Samoa [on Sept. 9]," he said.

De Villiers missed the 2003 World Cup in Australia after injuring knee ligaments in a warm-up game weeks out from the start of the tournament.

This time around, however, the star center has done everything in his power to represent his country in France.

De Villiers has undergone nine sessions inside a decompression chamber, which is believed to speed up recovery from injury.

In total, the 25-year-old has spent 18 hours in the decompression chamber.
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