Philander has recovered from an ankle injury

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

South Africa pace bowler Vernon Philander has been deemed fit for the first Test against England, which gets underway on Thursday at Lord’s.

There were initially concerns about Philander after he missed the warm-up game against the England Lions in Worcester last week with an ankle injury.

But, now that he has been cleared to play, the Proteas will have a full-strength pace attack, which will consist of Philander, Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel.

Meanwhile, it still remains to be seen whether captain Faf du Plessis will take part in the first Test.

Du Plessis returned home for the birth of his first child, but since it was a “difficult birth”, a decision on his availability will be taken on Monday.

If Du Plessis is ruled out of the match, Dean Elgar will step in as captain. Elgar led South Africa in their warm-up match, which ended as a draw.