Dale Steyn ruled out of India series due to tissue damage in left heel

Cape Town, Jan 7: South Africa were dealt a major blow after senior-most pacer Dale Steyn was ruled out for the remainder of three-match series against India after damaging a tissue on his left heel during the second day of the opening Test.

Steyn left the field three balls into his 18th over as he felt a pain on his left heel.

"In his delivery stride in his 18th over, Steyn landed awkwardly on his landing foot and this caused significant tissue damage in the heel area of his foot. He is unlikely to bowl in this Test again as the recovery period is between 4 to 6 weeks. It also means he could be out of the series," said South African team doctor Mohammed Moosajee.

Moosajee made it clear that it was an on-field injury and not related to fitness issue.

"We will have a leading ankle surgeon look at him tomorrow and get an opinion. It is important to note that this unfortunate injury was freakish because of the way he landed in the footholes. It is in no way related to his bowling loads or not being match ready," he added.

Steyn in fact was getting into the groove as he had figures of 2 for 51 with wickets of opener Shikhar Dhawan and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha during his comeback Test.

He was out of action for one year after a major surgery for shoulder dislocation. He recently made a comeback in competitive cricket and Cricket South Africa (CSA) did not play him during the four-day Test against Zimbabwe to preserve him for the India series.