Delhi - Charl Langeveldt is recovering well from a shoulder injury and may be able to play for the Cape Cobras in the later stages of the Champions League Twenty20 in India.

“Charl is improving daily and hopefully will be able to play again at some stage in the tournament,” said team doctor and manager Peter Sandell.

Neither Dr Sandell nor coach Shukri Conrad would speculate on when the star fast bowler would be ready to return to action but it seems unlikely he will feature in the team which will play against the Victoria Bushrangers in the Cape team’s first Super Eights match in Bangalore on Saturday.

“We’re leaving it in Charl’s hands,” said Conrad. “He knows exactly how to manage himself. Obviously we would like to have him back in the side but it is a matter of what sort of pain threshold he can go through.”

Langeveldt injured his right shoulder when he dived in an attempt to take a catch in the outfield in the Cape Cobras’ first match against Royal Challengers Bangalore last Thursday. It was his first match since having a shoulder operation earlier in the year.

In the meantime Conrad is delighted with the way the Cobras have responded to the challenge of performing without two of their biggest stars, Langeveldt and Proteas captain Graeme Smith.

“I was very pleased with the way the guys played against the Otago Volts on Saturday,” said Conrad. “The first match against Bangalore was pretty much a one-man show with JP Duminy playing a brilliant innings but the win against Otago was much more of a team effort.”

Conrad was particularly pleased with his team’s performance in the field against the New Zealand outfit as they secured a win which guaranteed a place in the Super Eights.

“We have taken three big knocks with the injuries to Graeme (Smith), Charl (Langeveldt) and Richard Levi. We spoke about the need for a collective effort if we are to be successful and the guys produced it, especially on the fielding side.”

Conrad said that the injuries could even prove to be a blessing in disguise. “In a perverse way, not having Graeme and Charl on the field has taken the pressure off us in terms of expectation. The guys have risen to the challenge as a true-blue Western Cape team and a bunch of mates playing together.”

The team celebrated their first two wins on Saturday night and had a day off on Sunday. But Conrad had them hard at work in the nets in Hyderabad on Monday and Tuesday. “We hit it hard to get the guys focused again,” he said.

The team fly back to Bangalore on Wednesday and will then have two more days to prepare for the match against Victoria.