Whiteley sustained a knee injury in March this year and has since been in a race against time to return to full fitness in the hopes of donning the Green and Gold for the June test series.

News out of the Lions camp is however that the loose forward is not yet ready to take to the field and will most likely be out of action for a further 2 to 3 weeks.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is expected to name a 40-man Springbok squad after Saturday’s Super Rugby match at Newlands and with the 18 test caped Whiteley not at full fitness it seems all the more likely that he will miss out on selection.

The Glenwood High School old boy was named as Bok captain for the 2017 season and despite missing out on majority of the international season due to injury, he had hopes of regaining the captaincy for the 2018 season.

His latest injury setback has however thrown a spanner in the proverbial comeback works.

The Boks travel to the United States of America next week where they will face Wales at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium followed by 3 tests against England in Johannesburg, Bloemfontein and Cape Town respectively.