Johannesburg – Proteas players JP Duminy and Quinton de Kock are recovering well from their respective injuries with just over a month to go before the cricket World Cup starts in February.
Duminy was set to return to the South African team for the first One Day International against the West Indies in Durban on Friday, while De Kock was set to resume batting and wicketkeeping practice on Monday but would not be available for selection until the showpiece event in Australia and New Zealand.
“The plan is to come back on Friday for the first ODI,” Duminy said in Johannesburg on Monday.
“My knee has been holding up pretty well over the last while. The last 10 days have probably been the most vigorous in terms of rehab.”
The allrounder injured his left knee and had been sidelined since November, but was now ready to make his return.
“I will try and play every game in this ODI series. I'll have to asses it game by game as it's important to manage my knee around games.”
Duminy's career had previously been derailed from injury after he tore his Achilles during the first Test against Australia in November 2012 and was sidelined for seven months.
While he would be ready to slot back into the batting line-up at number six, his resumption in his role with the ball could take longer, he said.
“The injury will probably affect how much bowling I do, especially in the ODI series against the West Indies. I'm not exactly sure how it will pan out yet, but I'm hoping to contribute with the ball.
“Over the last period of time, I've contributed really well with the ball,” said Duminy who had taken 10 wickets in ODI cricket in 2014.
De Kock, meanwhile, felt he was ahead of schedule in his recovery from an ankle injury he picked up during the first Test against the West Indies in Centurion on December 19.
“I actually started running in the last two days. I was running full sprints yesterday,” said De Kock.
“I'm actually recovering quite fast, a lot quicker than anybody expected. I should be fully fit very soon.”
Originally, De Kock's recovery period took him out of contention for South Africa's opening World Cup game against Zimbabwe on February 15, but the player was confident he would be ready for the two warm-up matches against New Zealand and Sri Lanka the week prior the main event.
“I' d love to play in the World Cup warm-ups, and any other games obviously.
“I'm starting batting today and keeping. I'm sure I'll be fully fit by the warm-ups.
“There's no pain, it's just precaution at the moment. I'm still wary about how much I can do, so it's just about getting my confidence back with what I do.” – Sapa