Ulster hit with hammer blow as marquee signing suffers serious injury

Terrible tidings for the province.

Ulster have been hit with a massive blow to their plans for next season after new signing Marcell Coetzee suffered a serious knee injury. The Springbok forward recently signed a three-year deal to play for Les Kiss's side and was scheduled to arrive in Belfast at the conclusion of the Super Rugby season in August. But the 24-year-old back row's campaign was ended prematurely when he was taken from the field on a stretcher during the Sharks' 24-9 Super Rugby defeat by the Bulls yesterday. SARugbyMag reports that Coetzee has torn his anterior cruciate ligament and now faces around nine months on the sidelines, making it unlikely he is seen in Ulster colours before the New Year. With current number eight Nick Williams leaving the club at the end of this season, the injury to Coetzee could leave Ulster short of options in the back row for the first half of the new campaign.