Dané Van Niekerk has sustained a foot injury and will miss the Proteas’ final series before the World Cup in England.

A Type 1 tear of the plantar capsule will sideline the Proteas Women’s captain for up to six weeks and thus prevent her from taking to the field for the quadrangular series which gets underway in Potchefstroom on 7 May.

Proteas Women’s coach Hilton Moreeng does, however, expect Van Niekerk to be fit in time for the global showpiece which begins on 24 June.

‘It’s not ideal to lose our captain in the last stages of our preparation for the World Cup, but this is a good opportunity for someone to step up to the plate and fulfill this key all-rounder role in the squad,’ he said. ‘We wish Dané a very speedy recovery and look forward to having her back.’

An interim captain will be announced shortly though nobody has been called up to replace Van Niekerk in the squad.

Van Niekerk has scored 1347 runs in 78 matches for the Proteas Women at an average of 32.85. She also has 105 wickets to her name with best figures of 5-17.