SA vs ENG | Ankle injury sidelines Rory Burns for four months

After faltering in the Boxing Day Test, England fought back strongly at Newlands and might very well wrap up the game in their favour. But yet another piece of bad news follows as opener Rory Burns has been ruled for the next four months with an ankle injury.

The Surrey opener picked up the injury prior to the second Test of the series while playing football in the warm-ups and has undergone surgery on the ruptured ligaments. The visitors named young opener Zak Crawley as his replacement but the Kent batter failed to contribute on debut.

Burns was a revolutionary find for the Three Lions as they found a solid opener in him after trying almost 12 other options at the top of the order. The 29-year-old, who made an impressive 84 in the second innings in Centurion, will now undergo a period of rehabilitation in the hope of being fit to play for Surrey at the start of the County Championship season in April.

As a result of this injury England have done away with football as a warm-up activity as of now. Burns will miss England’s two-match Test rubber against Sri Lanka away from home in March.