Marx, who was not included in Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber’s matchday squad to face Romania in Bordeaux on Sunday, went down at training on Wednesday after having his knee caught in contact.

In a statement, Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber expressed his sadness at the news and said Marx will not be replaced in the squad at this stage due to the Boks having sufficient cover at hooker within the squad.

“First and foremost, we are extremely disappointed for Malcolm, and we wish him all the best in his recovery,” said Nienaber.

“He’s been working very hard to be in the best form possible for the tournament, and it’s tragic that his campaign has ended this way.

“As a team we will remain in contact with him, as we do with all injured players such as Lukhanyo (Am), Handre (Pollard) and Lood (de Jager), and support him as much as we can through the recovery process.

“We have enough cover at hooker with Bongi (Mbonambi) and Deon (Fourie) in the squad, while Marco (van Staden) has also been training there and has been named on all our team sheets so far as a hooker option.

“We’ll assess our needs for the rest of the tournament and confirm who we are calling up as an additional player later this week.”

There’s no denying that Marx’s loss is a massive blow to the Boks’ cause. He is widely regarded as one of the best hookers in world rugby and one of the most skilled and versatile forwards in the South African pack.

The Springboks do have a very strong and experienced replacement in Mbonambi, however, while Fourie also shines in some of the same areas as Marx, such as his impressive work rate and fetching ability.

The Boks will depart for Bordeaux on Thursday afternoon where they will continue their preparations for Sunday’s round two encounter against Romania at Stade de Bordeaux.