De Kock who fell just short of the century during the second Test in Wellington injured his finger while fielding.

The Proteas team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee confirmed that the player could possibly miss on the Indian Premier League and the ICC Champions Trophy.

“Quinton sustained an injury to his right index finger during the last Test match in Wellington.

“At the time, we had an x-ray done to exclude a fracture, and thankfully that was clear.

“However, he still complained of pain and discomfort in the finger so we had a scan done in Hamilton on Wednesday which revealed tendon damage to the last digit of the index finger.

“We will make a late call on his availability for the match on Friday after he undergoes a fitness test with protective strapping to see if he will be able to bat or keep wicket.

“Either way, he is going to need a protected period of recovery which will take between 4-6 weeks. In the long-term, there is every likelihood of him missing out on the IPL because of the expected recovery time.

“Being a wicket-keeper, every time he catches the ball there is strain on the finger and it makes it difficult to allow for sufficient time to recover.

“If he doesn’t have the 4-6 weeks’ recovery time, further activity could aggravate the injury and it could even jeopardise his participation in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy and the full tour to England.”

Moosajee added that Heinrich Klaasen is ready to replace De Kock if need be for his South African debut.

“He is here and he is working in the nets.

“That’s why we brought him over, as you know anything can happen on the morning of the game.

“So all 15 guys in the squad need to prepare to be ready for selection.

The third and final Test begins on Saturday morning at Seddon Park in Hamilton.

Morgan Piek/OFM Sport