A neck injury will sideline South Africa hooker Bismarck du Plessis for three months, Coastal Sharks coach John Plumtree said Sunday.

This rules him out of June Tests against Wales (June 5), France (June 12) and Italy (June 19 and 26) and he may also miss the Tri-Nations championship featuring the world champions, Australia and New Zealand.

The Springboks have an obvious replacement for Du Plessis in skipper John Smit, who switched to tighthead prop last season with mixed results so Du Plessis could be accommodated in the starting line-up.

Du Plessis, whose brother Jannie is also a Bok, won his first cap as a substitute against Australia in Sydney three years ago and has scored five tries in 30 appearances.

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