Vernon Philander is set to be fully fit by mid-October
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South Africa pace bowler Vernon Philander has been ruled out of the two-Test series against Bangladesh as he has not sufficiently recovered from a back injury.
Philander, who sustained the injury in the lead-up to the fourth Test against England last month, was initially sidelined for the first Test. However, it is now understood that he will only make a full recovery by mid-October.
Philander is expected to represent the Cobras in the fourth and fifth round of Sunfoil Series before making his international comeback in the four-day day-night game against Zimbabwe on Boxing Day.
“It’s international sport, you’ll always find criticism. As long as it’s constructive, then I’m all for it. You’ve got to take it on the chin,” Philander told Independent Media as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. “Myself and Faf had a good chat afterwards, the way the two of us nailed down things was quite constructive at the end of the day.
“As long as you’re open and honest with each other, that’s the key thing. He made his view clear and obviously I made mine clear to him. As long as we understand each other, we’ve got a road to walk together.”
Philander is the latest pace bowler to be ruled out of the series as all-rounder Chris Morris and seamer Dale Steyn have also been sidelined.
Morris is also nursing a back injury, but is expected to return for the Twenty20 series against Bangladesh.
As for Steyn, he is set to make his comeback in the inaugural edition of the T20 Global League in November.
The 34-year-old has not played any competitive cricket since injuring his shoulder in November last year, but he did spend two days with the Proteas in Potchefstroom, where he worked with the bowlers and with physiotherapist Brandon Jackson.
“Dale has been away from the squad for a while. He still got a few boxes to tick. We wanted him to be around the group again,” South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said. “We want to make sure he still feels important because he is a very crucial part of our team and we also wanted him to help out with the younger bowlers.”
The first Test between South Africa and Bangladesh will get underway on Thursday in Potchefstroom, while the second Test will begin on October 6 in Bloemfontein.