Rehab makes Gibbs' selection 'difficult' - Procter

Herschelle Gibbs' month-long alcohol rehabilitation programme could see him miss South Africa's limited-overs leg of their Australia tour, with Mike Procter, the new convenor of selectors, saying it would be "very difficult" to pick the top-order batsman.

"It's going to be very difficult to select him," Procter told the Cape Times. "I want to speak to people, both cricket people and people at the rehab centre, when he completes the programme, to see how he has progressed."

Gibbs checked into a rehab centre in Cape Town earlier this week, and is expected to complete the programme by January 8, three days before South Africa's first Twenty20 international against Australia in Melbourne. The second Twenty20 game takes place two days later, and the five-ODI series starts on January 16.

"I'm going to speak to Shane Jabaar (South Africa's physio) to check on his conditioning when Gibbs returns from rehab," Procter said. "We will take everything into account before we make our final decision."

Gibbs has not been part of South Africa's Test squad since he was dropped in favour of Neil McKenzie in January this year. He has kept his place in South Africa's ODI and Twenty20 teams but was dropped from the team for the recent home ODI series against Bangladesh after breaking a team curfew.

Gibbs was later told to attend an alcohol rehabilitation course; in March this year, he had been arrested for drunk driving.

Gibbs' agent said he was keen to deal with the issue. "I have spoken to him and he is feeling very positive to start dealing with the matter," Donne Commins told the Pretoria News. "The final decision whether or not he should go was all up to him."

She said Gibbs was initially apprehensive about entering the programme but that was expected. "He is not going to be in contact with the outside world for a month, he has reason to feel this way."

With 7635 runs in 234 games, Gibbs is South Africa's second-highest run-getter in ODIs, behind Jacques Kallis, but faces a fight to get back his place in the side; Hashim Amla scored a career-best 140 while opening in his absence during the Bangladesh series.