Cape Town - The Stormers have named a 26-man touring squad ahead of their four-week tour of Australasia.

Their injured captain, Schalk Burger, will not be travelling with the team.

Burger, who has been sidelined with a knee injury since the first game of the season, was expected to make his return on the tour but coach Allister Coetzee said the skipper will not be risked in any of the four games.

He will only be available to play once they return to South Africa. Jean de Villiers will continue to captain the team.

The Stormers take on the Higlanders in Dunedin on Saturday, followed by matches against the Crusaders, Reds and Force.

"It's a hell of a tough tour but we are looking forward to the challenge," said Coetzee.

Coetzee said that he was happy with their 20-17 win over the Bulls on Saturday but expects more from his squad in the future.

"We set ourselves goals for the first phase of the competition and we are very happy with five from five and top of the log at the moment.

"This first phase was about character building and laying a solid foundation and I think we have made strides there.

"That said though we have achieved nothing yet and we will continue to keep looking to build on each performance.

"We haven't hit our straps yet," said Coetzee.

Stormers Squad:

1.    Steven Kitshoff
2.    Tiaan Liebenberg
3.    Brok Harris
4.    Eben Etzebeth
5.    Andries Bekker
6.    Siya Kolisi
7.    Duane Vermeulen
8.    Nick Koster
9.    Dewaldt Duvenage
10.    Burton Francis
11.    Gio Aplon
12.    Jean de Villiers
13.    Bryan Habana
14.    Gerhard van den Heever
15.    Joe Pietersen
16.    Siyabonga Ntubeni
17.    Frans Malherbe
18.    De Kock Steenkamp
19.    Nizaam Carr
20.    Louis Schreuder
21.    JP du Plessis
22.    Rynhardt Elstadt
23.    Juan de Jongh
24.    Peter Grant
25.    Deon Fourie
26.    Deon Carstens