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Cape Town - Proteas all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has not recovered from his hand injury and remains a doubt for the remainder of the Mzansi Super League (MSL).
The 30-year-old, who was a member of the 2019 World Cup squad in England, "minimally displaced fracture to the right hand" while on duty for the Paarl Rocks towards the end of last month.
Atr the time, the hope was that the injury was not overly serious but Pretorius then missed Wednesday night's loss to the Durban Heat while Rocks skipper Faf du Plessis confirmed after that match that Pretorius will also not feature in Sunday's final group game against the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants at Boland Park.
"He was a big loss with the way that he has batted throughout the tournament and he also gives you that sixth bowling option as an international bowler," said Du Plessis.
"It's given an opportunity for some youngsters who don't get to play on this level. Kyle (Verreynne) did really well in that last game and Sibs (makhanya) got that 50 ... it's good for me that your young guys are getting an opportunity to play against the best in the country because it grows our cricket."
When asked how long Pretorius would still be out for, Du Plessis was not sure.
"We don't know. There was talk that he might be ready for the semi-finals, but he won't be ready for the next game," he said.
"Hands are a tricky thing because he is in a cast and you have to wait to take the cast off and see how it feels when you pick that handle up. Generally it's quite sore."
It is a potentially devastating blow for Pretorius, who has been in superb form in all formats this season and had been linked with an inclusion in the Test squad to take on England in four Tests from Boxing Day.
With the first Test just three weeks away, Pretorius is in a race against time to be ready.
