CAPE TOWN, July 2 (Reuters) - South Africa have sent the Sharks' pair of centre Frans Steyn and lock Pieter-Steph du Toit back to their province for rehabilitation having ruled them out of their Rugby Championship opener in Australia on July 18.
Steyn has a pectoral muscle tear and Du Toit is recovering from a knee injury.
Coach Heyneke Meyer hopes the move will quicken their recovery and says the players remain in his thoughts leading up to the World Cup in England.
"Both of them are still firmly in our plans going forward for the season and I really hope they can get back on to the field sooner rather than later," Meyer said in a press release from SARU on Thursday.
"I'm confident the individual attention they will receive in Durban will be a massive benefit to them in the long run."
Two other injured players, scrumhalf Fourie du Preez (knee) and loose-forward Duane Vermeulen (neck), will continue to do the bulk of their rehabilitation work with the squad.
The Springboks had 15 players on the casualty list when the team gathered in Johannesburg this week with an expanded 49-man squad for the start of their World Cup preparations.
South Africa have five matches before the tournament, starting with a clash against a World XV in Cape Town on July 11.
They then play Australia, New Zealand and Argentina in the Rugby Championship, and have a one-off test against the latter in Buenos Aires to finish off their preparations.
The World Cup will be held from Sept. 18 to Oct. 31. South Africa are in Pool B along with Japan, Samoa, Scotland and United States.