South Africa seamer Lungi Ngidi has been ruled out of the home test summer with a groin injury, missing series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, while captain Temba Bavuma will have a fitness test on Monday to assess his availability.
Ngidi is expected to return to play in January, possibly in time for the third season of the SA20 Twenty20 league.
Batter Bavuma is in a race to be fit for the start of the two-test series with Sri Lanka that gets under way in Durban on Nov. 27 as he returns from an elbow injury that ruled him out of the series sweep in Bangladesh last month.
His loss would be more keenly felt than Ngidi, with South Africa having depth in their seam department but still at times brittle with their top six batting.
South Africa have a chance of reaching the 2025 World Test Championship final but would likely have to win both tests against Sri Lanka, and the two-match home series with Pakistan that includes Boxing Day and New Year fixtures.
