PARIS - South Africa centre Jean De Villiers is out of the rugby World Cup after tearing his left biceps in Sunday's 59-7 win over Samoa, a team statement said.
De Villiers, a key member of the side, was substituted early in the second half and taken tohospital for X-rays which showed he would have to return to South Africa for surgery.
The 28-year-old Wayne Julies was called up on Monday as a replacement and should arrive in France on Tuesday.
Julies will be appearing at his second World Cup having made his test debut during the 1999 tournament. He won the last of his 10 test caps against Samoa in June.
De Villiers has struggled with injury in his career and the latest setback is a huge blow for Jake White's team, who face champions England in their next Pool A game on Saturday (NZ time) in Paris.
His place at inside centre is likely to be taken by 20-year-old Frans Steyn who replaced him in Monday's test.
De Villiers missed the 2003 World Cup through injury, having been sidelined for a month after damaging a rib in a warm-up match against Namibia.
The 26-year-old is the second leading player to be ruled out of the Springboks' 30-man World Cup squad. Number eight Pierre Spies was withdrawn in June because of clots on his lungs.
