Batsman Temba Bavuma has been sidelined from the Proteas’ first Test against England, which will start at SuperSport Park in Centurion on 26 December.

Bavuma sustained a hip injury recently. He will remain in the Proteas and begin a rehabilitation program, with the goal of returning to play within seven to 10 days.

‘Temba presented with clinical features of a left hip flexor strain. A scan done confirmed a grade one strain of one of the hip flexor muscles,’ said Cricket South Africa chief medical officer, doctor Shuaib Manjra.

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A replacement will likely be named after this week’s 4-Day Domestic Series fixtures.

Cape Cobras middle-order batsman David Bedingham and Warriors opener Ed Moore are among the candidates to replace Bavuma. Both scored centuries, against the Knights and Dolphins respectively, on Thursday.

The Titans’ Theunis de Bruyn is also available. He had become a relatively permanent fixture in the Proteas Test XI before being dropped for the first half of this four-match series.

Newlands in Cape Town, St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth and the Wanderers in Johannesburg will host the second, third and fourth Test, respectively.

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