SOUTH AFRICA VS IRELAND

AB de Villiers to miss ODI against Ireland

by Cricbuzz Staff • Published on

AB de Villiers is still recovering from an elbow injury he sustained during the CPL © Cricbuzz

AB de Villiers, the South Africa captain, will miss his team's One-Day International (ODI) clash against Ireland, Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced on Thursday (September 22). The flamboyant batsman has been granted additional days of rest before the five-match series against Australia to recuperate sufficiently from an elbow injury.

De Villiers, who picked up the injury in August following his stint at the Caribbean Premier League, sat out at South Africa's 1-0 series win at home against New Zealand last month.

"De Villiers will miss the one-off Momentum ODI against Ireland at Sahara Park Willowmoore in Benoni on Sunday to give the injury more time to recover, and his availability for the series against Australia will be subject to him passing a fitness test," a CSA release stated.

The 32-year-old complained of pain last week and subsequently received a cortisone injection. His participation in the series against Australia would be subject to a fitness Test. Dr. Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa's team manager, also said that surgery would be a last option.

"AB has been on a rigorous rehabilitation and treatment plan for the last six weeks but is still complaining of pain in the elbow region. We consulted with a specialist, who advised extensive rehab and injected the elbow with cortisone," Moosajee said.

"However, the CSA medical committee has recommended a few more days of rehab to allow the elbow to improve. He will undergo treatment this week with our physiotherapist, Brandon Jackson, and a final call on his availability for the first ODI against Australia will be subject to him passing a fitness test. While surgery remains the last option, we hope that the extra time will allow the injury to respond to treatment," he added.

As in the Test against New Zealand, Faf du Plessis will captain the team in de Villiers's absence and Rilee Rossouw has been added to the squad as batting cover.

© Cricbuzz

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