"It turned out to be so much better than we initially thought. We thought the tibia was off but it's only four to six months, which is unreal," said Malan, who had surgery on the joint on Friday night.

"My left foot slid and I think my right foot was caught in the ground already, so when I made that initial contact with Beauden (Barrett) it just basically snapped. It's a freak injury."

Malan received a visit on Sunday from All Blacks centre Anton Lienert-Brown, who presented the Namibian with a signed New Zealand shirt.

"For someone like me who has been through shoulder surgery, I definitely feel his pain," said Lienert-Brown.

"When you're passionate and driven about a sport you love, when it's stopped for six months like that it can be tough.

"But it's good to see he is in awesome spirits."

Malan was born in Windhoek but schooled at Paarl Boys High outside Cape Town, which is noted for producing South African internationals.

He had a spell in the academy of the Durban-based Sharks but now plays for the New England Free Jacks in Major League Rugby in the United States.