The two-time World Cup-winning centre was a late withdrawal ahead of last weeks’ game against the Sharks in Durban due to a groin injury.

The Cheetahs coach, Hawiess Fourie, told OFM Sport that at this stage it is still too early to make a call.

“It was a big loss to lose Frans so late in the week, but we are waiting for his response to the treatment he is receiving at the moment.

“He will get treatment until Wednesday and we will probably make a call on him on Thursday, just before training.

“So, we will only know by Thursday morning if he will be able to play for us at the weekend.”

The Cheetahs assistant coach, Charl Strydom, in his turn told OFM Sport that they definitely missed Steyn during the 19-13 defeat to the Sharks in Durban, but stress that was not the reason why they lost at the Shark Tank.

“This past weekend we definitely missed Frans. He pulled out on Thursday in training and we missed his decision-making, especially when we got the yellow card.

“He brings that calmness to the backline, just like Ruan (Pienaar) did when he joined us. They have been in those situations so many times before and they know how to bring calmness to the rest of the team.

“That is not why we lost the game. We only had 35% possession in the game and that was mostly down to ill-discipline. We conceded sixteen penalties, which is quite a bit.”

Saturday’s game between the Stormers and the Cheetahs at Newlands in Cape Town kicks off at 19:00.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport