Sydney: Paceman Vernon Philander has been ruled out of South Africa's next World Cup match against the West Indies due to a left hamstring injury he picked up during last weekend's loss to defending champion India.
South Africa team manager Mohammed Moosajee released a statement Tuesday saying medical scans in Sydney confirmed the extent of Philander's injury, which would take a week to 10 days to heal.
Moosajee said Philander would miss Friday's match against the West Indies, but it was too early to make an assessment on his availability for the Pool B match against Ireland in Canberra next Tuesday.
"We have to give him every opportunity to make sure that he can be available," Moosajee said. "At the same time we don't want to be foolish by taking short-cuts -- we will go through the usual treatment protocols. If he passes all the fitness tests and is symptom free going into the Ireland game, he may play."
Philander was only able to bowl four overs against India, leaving South Africa's attack short of options in a lopsided match at Melbourne. South Africa, one of the leading title contenders, opened the tournament with a win over Zimbabwe.
