Durban - The Proteas could very well go into the fourth day of the opening Test against England without Dale Steyn.
The 32-year-old bowled just 3.5 overs on Monday as England cantered to 172/3 – a lead of 261 – to take control in Durban.
Steyn was back on the field by the end of the day, but he did not do any bowling after he left the field for the second time just three balls into his second spell.
Proteas team manager Dr. Mohammad Moosajee helped explain the injury after the day’s play, and Steyn’s participation for the rest of the Test match is in doubt.
“Dale experienced some discomfort in his right shoulder after the first day’s play and a lot was probably because of the long layoff that he had coupled with the fact that there was a great deal of bowling in the first day,” said Moosajee.
“He woke up sore and he managed to get through the first innings. But during the second innings today he found the pain and discomfort become increasingly troublesome.
“We took for a precautionary scan which at this moment in time is inconclusive. There were no tears to any of the muscles or tendons or ligaments. We’re treating it more as a shoulder spasm/stiffness for now.
“We’ll probably try and get him to bowl in the warm-up, and if he gets through that we’ll allow him to bowl tomorrow. Thereafter further assessment will be done after the first Test match before we make a call on Cape Town.”