Dale Steyn ruled out of South Africa opener against England

The 35-year-old is not yet available for selection, coach Ottis Gibson has revealed

South Africa have received a blow after Dale Steyn was ruled out of their World Cup opener against England on Thursday.

The 35-year-old has been on the way back after sustaining a shoulder injury during the IPL earlier this month, but has not recovered in time for their opening game against the hosts at the Oval.

South Africa coach Ottis Gibson also confirmed Steyn is a doubt for for the game against Bangladesh at the same venue on Sunday, but hopes he will be fit for their clash against India on June 5.

"He is not quite ready, not far away but he is not ready yet," Gibson said in a press conference at the Oval.

"We think with a six-week tournament there is no real need to force the issue right now. So he won’t be available for the first match.

^{Steyn injured his shoulder during the IPL}

"We know that he is close and is getting closer every day.

"We will give him as much time as we can for him to get ready. We are hoping that he will be ready on Sunday against Bangladesh, but if not, then against India."

The Proteas are likely to turn to either Dwayne Pretorius or Chris Morris to replace the 35-year-old seamer, who only played a limited part in today's training session.

Steyn, who played just two games for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2019 before complaining of a shoulder-flare up, is just one of a few injury issues the Proteas have faced in the lead-up to the World Cup.

Fellow seamer Kagiso Rabada was called back from Delhi Capitals in the IPL by Cricket South Africa due to a back injury, having helped the franchise to a playoff finish.

Lungi Ngidi was also an injury doubt after missing the entirety of the IPL, but the young duo appear to have recovered in time after turning out for the Proteas in their warm-up match against Sri Lanka, taking three wickets between them. 

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