Philander out of series, Steyn ’50-50′
South Africa will be without fast bowler Vernon Philander for the rest of the series against England as he will not recover from injury in time to feature, while Dale Steyn is likely to miss the third Test.
Steyn did not play in the second Test after picking up a shoulder strain in the first match in Durban. And while he said on Twitter on Wednesday that he was back in training, the Proteas may not risk him in Johannesburg.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Start bowling again today ???? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/lekker?src=hash">#lekker</a></p>— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) <a href="https://twitter.com/DaleSteyn62/status/684267147514802176">January 5, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Meanwhile, Kyle Abbott, who missed the second Test with a hamstring niggle, has been declared fit, so it remains to be seen whether Chris Morris, who made his debut in Cape Town, will keep his place.
Dr Mohammad Moosajee, the Proteas team manager, said: "Vernon Philander is a no-go for the Test series. He is still very much in his rehab phase.
"Kyle Abbott has made a full recovery from his hamstring strain and he will be ready for the Johannesburg Test.
"Dale Steyn is pretty much 50-50. He has got another appointment with a shoulder specialist in Cape Town tomorrow for another opinion and will be reassessed when we regroup in Johannesburg on Monday."
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