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Smith's pinkie on the mend

Johannesburg - Proteas captain Graeme Smith said on Tuesday he was recovering well from the injury to the little finger on his left hand.

Smith sustained a small fracture during fielding practice ahead of the second Test against India at Eden Gardens in Kolkata last week.

Although he played in the match, he returned to South Africa ahead of the three one-day internationals to give himself time to recover ahead of what is likely to be a strenuous few months of cricket, which will include the Indian Premier League, the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies as well as a tour of the West Indies.

The finger is in a small protective cast.

"It's doing well," Smith said. "I'll be seeing the physiotherapist later this week, and then our (the Proteas) medical team will check it out when they get back from India next week.

However, he indicated it was unlikely he would play for the Cape Cobras in the semi-finals of the Standard Bank Pro20.

The Cobras play the Warriors in Port Elizabeth on Friday night, and again at Newlands in Cape Town next Wednesday.

"There's a lot coming up and I don't want to risk injuring it again," he said.

Smith first injured the finger during the third Test against Australia in Sydney in January 2009, when he was struck on the hand by Mitchell Johnson. The Australian fast bowler then broke the little finger on Smith's right hand a few weeks later, during the second Test in Durban.

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