Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Later this month, South Africa is set to welcome back pace bowler Dale Steyn, who has spent nearly a year on the sidelines with a shoulder injury.

Steyn underwent surgery after suffering a “fracture of the bone in the shoulder joint” during the Proteas’ tour of Australia in November last year.

The 34-year-old was supposed to make his long-awaited comeback during South Africa’s recent tour of England, but that did not come to fruition as he felt he had not sufficiently recovered.

Now that he has had more time to heal, Steyn is likely to don the South Africa jersey again when his side host Bangladesh for two Tests, three ODIs and two Twenty20 Internationals from September to October.

But, with Steyn’s return hovering over the horizon, what can we expect from him when he steps out onto the pitch?

In my opinion, Steyn will continue to be a force to be reckoned with, especially as he will be playing on home soil if he features in the Bangladesh series.

Having been out of action for a lengthy period of time, Steyn will be raring to make his presence felt once again and he will look upon the Bangladesh batsmen as fresh meat.

There will be questions about how he will fare with the ball in his hand, but last month, Steyn uploaded a video to his Instagram account detailing his progress over the course of nine months.

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Given all the grit and determination Steyn has shown to become fully fit, his hard work will pay off when he is unleashed at the international level once again.

While the will to succeed after a devastating injury will be motivating him, Steyn can also draw inspiration from the fact that he is just five wickets from surpassing Shaun Pollock as South Africa’s most successful bowler in Test history.

Being within touching distance of dethroning Pollock and establishing himself as the king of kings in terms of South Africa bowlers is something that will spark Steyn’s passion to keep going.

But, while I can drone on and on about Steyn’s burning ambition to don the South Africa jersey once again, I’ll let the speed demon do the honours himself.

“All I do know is how strong I feel and how much I’ve missed doing my thing on the cricket field,” he was quoted as saying by SuperSport in August. “I’ve desperately missed playing – my enthusiasm for the game and bowling fast is as strong as it ever was.

“I have done a lot of running and a lot of surfing to strengthen the shoulder – and even more time in the gym – so there’s no problem with my overall fitness. In fact, I’d say I’m as fit as I ever have been.”

No doubt this will bring a smile to the faces of South African fans and prompt a few of them to replicate his entertaining celebrations.

But, while we gear ourselves for the impending return of one of the best fast bowlers to have ever been produced by South Africa, people have to prepare themselves for an outcome that may not lead to a happy ending.

One frightening thought that could become all too real is Steyn may not have the same impact he used to.

Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada can only support him for so long as if he is unable to stand on his own two feet, the Phalaborwa native might find himself replaced by Morne Morkel, who was one of the few bright spots for South Africa during their four-Test series in England as he was the third-highest wicket-taker with 19 victims at an average of 26.36.

However, the worst case scenario for Steyn would be another serious injury. If this were to actually happen, it could very well spell the end of his international career as it will be a flashing sign in his mind that his body can no longer cope with the hardships of the game.

That being said, I hope Steyn will come back with a bang and continue to wreak havoc on batsmen all around the world. With the heart and soul he has shown through an extremely tough and testing period in his career, the 34-year- old deserves nothing but the best upon his return to the international cricketing arena.

Feature written by Bimal Mirwani