De Lange withdrawn from SA A due to rib injury

Pacer Marchant de Lange has been withdrawn from the South Africa A team after scans revealed that he had suffered a rib injury during the second unofficial Test against Australia A last week*. South Africa A are currently participating a tri-series against India A and Australia A.

The injury surfaced during South Africa A's second innings in the unofficial Test, forcing de Lange to leave the field after he had bowled just one over. In a press release issued by Cricket South Africa, Dr Shuaib Manjra, chairman of the CSA's medical committee, said: "We hope to have Marchant playing again within a few weeks." The board also clarified that the withdrawal was a precautionary measure taken in light of the stress fracture of the back that de Lange suffered a few months ago.

De Lange, who touches 150 kph, had impressed on debut against Sri Lanka in 2011 with figures of 7 for 81 in one innings, but has since been plagued by injury problems.

He had only just returned to the fold after being sidelined for 14 months, when he pulled out of South Africa's tour of England last June. His rehabilitation, originally planned for December, was pushed back to February as he had to change his bowling action to prevent a recurrence of injury.

This latest setback is likely to hamper De Lange's chances of staging a comeback to the national side, as South Africa have already beefed up their bowling stocks with the likes of Kyle Abbott and Chris Morris in their preparation for the 2015 World Cup.