CAPE TOWN: South Africa have suffered another injury blow ahead of their Test series against Pakistan with all-rounder, Vernon Philander ruled out of the Boxing Day Test with a hand injury.

South Africa square off against the Pakistanis in three Test matches, and will already be without young fast bowler Lungi Ngidi, who has been ruled out for three months with a knee injury.

Philander is the latest in the casualty list, having sustained a hairline fracture on his right thumb, and is set to miss the first match of the series after only recently recovering from an ankle injury.

This leaves just three fit specialist seamers in the Proteas squad in Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada and Duanne Olivier.

The depleted bowling reserves have left head coach Ottis Gibson with a few headaches.

“If you look at where we are, Steyn, Rabada and Olivier become very important to us,” he said on Sunday.

“We just want to manage them as best we can. We’ve seen how Dale’s been going. I don’t want to say we’ve seen a transformation because he’s always been a top player, but he’s back to full fitness and performing like the player of old. KG (Rabada) as always is very important to us.”

Gibson further said: “I really don’t even want to think about what would happen should there be another injury.

“We’ve looked at a few bowling options over the past 14 months and we’ve got what we feel now is a very good bowling attack and group.

“You’ve got Steyn, Rabada, Philander, Ngidi and Olivier, who’s been in and out, but always in our thinking. That’s the making of a good attack in any form of the game.

“My job now is to keep them fit and fresh for them to be at their peak at international level,” Gibson added.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2018