South Africa optimistic over Kallis injury

	Jacques Kallis: expected to play at Uxbridge despite arm injury © Getty Images

Jacques Kallis is expected to be fit to play against Middlesex at Uxbridge on Friday, in South Africa's final warm-up ahead of next week's first Test against England, despite being ruled out of the second day's play against Somerset following a painful blow to the elbow.

Kallis, 32, suffered the injury during the first day's play at Taunton, when he shaped to hook the former England fast bowler, Andrew Caddick, but was beaten by the bounce of the second new ball and was struck on the tip of his right elbow. Though he briefly continued batting, and even smacked consecutive boundaries, he was clearly in discomfort and retired hurt in the same over for 160 from 157 balls.

The initial report from the South Africa camp was that Kallis had suffered "bruising but no structural damage", and on the second day, Shane Jabaar, South Africa's physio, elaborated on the situation. "He took a nasty blow on the leading edge of his right elbow, which was very badly swollen," said Jabaar. "Obviously he was sore from the shock of getting hit, but what really affected him was that the radial nerve got a bit of a bump on it."

The radial nerve, Jabaar explained, runs down the side of the arm and affects the feeling in the thumb and forefinger. "He couldn't get a good grip on the bat and was struggling to control it a little bit," he said. "He's still got a bit of swelling, right in the joint, which is a funny area to control. We can't really get rid of it, other than by restricting his arm with tight strapping and we don't really want to do that."

Instead the joint was immobilised and iced overnight, and though it remains stiff and tender after a day's rest, Jabaar is increasingly confident he'll be ready to take to resume his tour against Middlesex. "I think he'll be ok," he said. "There's a big bruise there at the moment, but we're working on it and we don't think it's serious enough for him to see anyone else for a special investigation yet. These guys go off for so many X-rays that we don't want to send him off for any old thing. I trust my judgement for now."

Jabaar was also optimistic about the progress of South Africa's captain, Graeme Smith, who has been a bystander in the early part of the tour having suffered a hamstring tear while playing for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League last month. At the close of play, he went into the nets with Mickey Arthur for his first hard-ball bat of the tour.

"Graeme is coming very nicely," said Jabaar. "From a fitness point of view we're still working on that, but from a hamstring point of view I think he's out of danger. We're just making sure he's well conditioned so that he doesn't just participate when he goes out to play but actually competes. He'll have to come through a little bit of a fitness test before he plays at Uxbridge, but he'll be fine. He's on track to be playing."

Jabaar did concede, however, that if for any reason Smith was not able to play on Friday, he would have to be ruled out of the Lord's Test. "It's the ultimate test, to see him running around in the field, and how he responds to instinctively running down the wicket for a quick single or fielding the ball.

"I think what he's done so far gives us a lot of confidence to say he won't break down. But you can never tell until he actually plays a match and that's part of our criteria of guys returning - they've got to play a practice match as well."

Hashim Amla was another slight injury concern for South Africa following his first-day century at Taunton. According to a team spokesman, Amla sustained a slight groin strain in his left leg while batting for three hours and 40 minutes during his innings of 172, and didn't take the field on the second day. It was, however, Amla's first significant innings for two months, and so the decision was purely precautionary.