Smith to fully recover for India series

Graeme Smith, South Africa's captain, is expected to be fully fit for the series against India that starts on December 16 after being examined by a hand surgeon on the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Medical Panel on Friday. Smith had fractured the ring finger of his left hand during the recently completed series against Pakistan, and there was a concern that the injury might require surgery.

"We have been given the assurance that Graeme's injury is healing within expectation and we are confident that he will make a full recovery and be available for the entire series against India," Dr Shuaib Manjra, the chairman of CSA's medical committee, said in a statement.

CSA's medical team will continue with Smith's rehabilitation and his condition will be reviewed again in two weeks' time. According to Dr Manjra, the expectation is "he will begin training with the team when they reconvene on December 12, 2010."

Mike Solomons, the hand surgeon who saw Smith, told ESPNcricinfo, "he does not need surgery. He will have a few weeks of rest and physiotherapy and that should sort it out."

Smith sustained the injury when he was hit by a Shoaib Akhtar bouncer in the first ODI against Pakistan last month, and aggravated it by playing in the last two ODIs of the same series and the two-Test series in the UAE. He has now had five separate hand injuries in the past two-and-a-half years, which have often kept him out of limited-overs engagements but have yet to affect his participation in Tests.

The fracture prior to his most recent injury was sustained while taking a catch during the IPL in April. The worrying thing about the latest injury is that, similar to the broken hand Smith suffered twice at the hands of Mitchell Johnson in the 2008/9 season, it was sustained while batting. Once again, questions will be raised about whether it's Smith's technique that makes him vulnerable to being hit or if he is just unlucky.