Dale Steyn remains a doubt for the opener against England on 30 May, while Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi have fully recovered.

Ottis Gibson, Faf du Plessis and Dr Mohammed Moosajee gathered at the Sun International for their departure press conference in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The main news from the opening few minutes was an update about the Proteas’ injuries. The major concern is Steyn, who is not yet fully match ready after his shoulder injury.

‘The four players that have completely recovered are KG [Kagiso Rabada] with his lower back lumbar strain, Lungi [Ngidi] with his left side strain, JP Duminy has recovered from his shoulder injury, and Tabraiz Shamsi has recovered from his lower back injury,’ Dr Moosajee said on Saturday.

‘Dale Steyn is making good progress. Although he has been seen by two of South Africa’s top shoulder specialists, he had new scans done that didn’t show anything of significance. We are reassured by the expert opinions, and they have cleared Dale for the tournament.

‘His rehab and fitness regime is continuing at pace and the focus is to get his bowling loads up to get him ready for the tournament.

‘He has been doing shadow bowling and the experts told us to just hold back. He’s going for another assessment on Saturday afternoon and should be cleared after that.’

Ottis Gibson reiterated Steyn’s importance to the side, but believes his squad has his absence covered if need be.

‘He’s an important part of our setup and of our strategy,’ said Gibson ‘The strategy is not for just the first week, but for the whole six weeks.

‘If he’s not able to play a part in the first week, but is able to play in the latter stages of the tournament, then that’s something we are able to accept.’

The Proteas leave for England on Saturday ahead of their first of two warm-up games. Their first opponents are Sri Lanka, who they play on Friday 24 May.

They then take on the West Indies on 26 May, with their opening game against England taking place on 30 May.

Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images