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Autumn internationals: South Africa without prop Jannie du Plessis for Saturday's Test against Italy

Image: Jannie du Plessis: Misses South Africa Test against Italy

South Africa will be without prop Jannie du Plessis for Saturday's Test against Italy but full-back Willie le Roux has been passed fit to play.

Du Plessis hyper-extended his knee and strained a hamstring in the Springboks' 31-28 victory over England.

"Fortunately Jannie's knee is fine but the scans confirmed our suspicion of a hamstring strain and he will not be able to play against Italy on Saturday," said South Africa team doctor Craig Roberts.

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Le Roux, who injured his cheekbone against England, also went for scans on Monday evening but has been cleared of any fractures.

"We'll manage Willie during training this week but he should be available to face Italy," said Roberts.

Lions prop Ruan Dreyer will join the Boks in Padova on Tuesday as a replacement for Du Plessis with the tourists hoping for a second victory after beating the English at Twickenham but losing to Ireland in Dublin. 

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