South Africa were dealt a major blow after veteran pacer Dale Steyn was ruled out of remainder of the three-match series against India after damaging a tissue on his left heel during the second day of the ongoing first Test in Cape Town, on Saturday.
Steyn left the field three balls into his 18th over as he felt some pain in his left heel.
"In his delivery stride in his 18th over, Steyn landed awkwardly on his landing foot and this caused significant tissue damage in the heel area of his foot. He is unlikely to bowl in this Test again as the recovery period is between 4 to 6 weeks. It also means he could be out of the series," said South African team doctor Mohammed Moosajee.
Moosajee made it clear that it is an on-field injury and not related to fitness issue.
"We will have a leading ankle surgeon look at him tomorrow and get an opinion. It is important to note that this unfortunate injury was freakish because of the way he landed in the footholes. It is in no way related to his bowling loads or not being match ready," he added.
Infact, Steyn was getting into the groove as he had figures of two for 51 with wickets of opener Shikhar Dhawan and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha during his comeback Test.
He was out of action for one year after a major surgery for shoulder dislocation.
He recently made a comeback in competitive cricket and Cricket South Africa (CSA) did not play him during the four-day Test against Zimbabwe to preserve him for the India series.
