OLD Georgians’ hopes of making an impact in their debut appearance in the Gold Cup have been dealt a massive blow with the club confirming star front rower Pieter Joubert will not take part in the tournament.

Joubert who raptured his biceps while on international duty with the Zimbabwe Sables has just had surgery and is expected to begin rehab soon.

                                              Pieter Joubert and Jacques Leitao 

“Unfortunately, Pieter Joubert is out for the rest of the season after injuring his biceps while on national duty with the Zimbabwe Sables,” said OG’s Coach Grant Mitchell.

“He just had his surgery and will need weeks, if not months, of rehabilitation.

“He is obviously a first choice front rower and it is always a bit difficult, and a big blow, to lose a player of his caliber.

“You cannot replace or replicate what a player of his experience and caliber brings to the team on and off the pitch.

“We do wish a speedy recovery and hope to have him back as soon as possible,” he said.

Old Georgians begin their Gold Cup campaign with a tie against White City on Saturday, and Mitchell was the picture of “optimism” during the club’s penultimate training session on Thursday.

“Preparations are always a challenge because we are apply the pressures on ourselves to get things right and to get a collectively understanding of what we want to achieve.

“There has been some good news tough; with the team already looking sharp, motivated and on the same page, and that is what we want to achieve during the last phases of our preparations.

“Also, we have some players making good progress in terms of returns from injury.

“Kudakwashe Chiwanza is about a match or two away from full a return, while Jonathan McWade is making steady progress and David McWade is already back in full training.

“We also have a couple of new players joining us from the Young Sables outfit; namely Moses Gunda and Shingi Katswere.

“So when you lose a player of Joubert’s quality and service, it helps to have depth within the squad,” he said.

Old Georgians left for South Africa on Friday.