Wayde van Niekerk, the Olympic and world 400m champion and world-record holder, is expected to be sidelined until at least April with a knee injury suffered in a celebrity tag rugby match on Oct. 7.
“His coach wasn’t happy about that [it happening at a rugby match],” Van Niekerk’s agent said Tuesday. Van Niekerk is famously coached by Ans Botha, a great-grandmother.
Van Niekerk is undergoing surgery Tuesday. He has a torn meniscus and is out through at least the Commonwealth Games in early April, his agent said.
The Commonwealth Games are the biggest meet for many countries next year, including Van Niekerk’s South Africa.