The first team who were rocked by injuries were the Proteas. The Proteas' injury woes began before the start of the Cricket World Cup with Anrich Nortje being left out of the squad just days before the start of the World Cup campaign, with the seamer unable to recover from injury. Not only that, but the Proteas were dealt another blow when The Phalaborwa Express, Dale Steyn, was later ruled out of the tournament without bowling a single delivery, as he was unable to recover from a shoulder injury he picked up at the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

Lungi Ngidi soon followed, pulling up with a tight hamstring four overs into his spell when South Africa lost to Bangladesh. Good news for the Proteas, however, is that Lungi Ngidi is expected to be fit and ready for their Day and Night match against Afghanistan on Saturday, starting at 14:30.

The injury bug has since bitten other teams at the tournament. West Indies all-rounder, Andre Russel, was left out of his team's last clash against South Africa. The big-hitting all-rounder is recovering from pain in his knee brought on through arthritis. 

The latest from the Indian camp has seen India’s most consistent ICC Tournament batter, Shikar Dhawan, ruled out after scans revealed a hairline fracture on his thumb after being struck by a Pat Cummings short ball in his innings which guided India to a match-winning 352. KL Rahul, who currently holds the No. 4 position, is likely to open the batting in Dhawan's place, while Dinesh Karthik and  Vijay Shankar will be the likely candidates to come into the Indian middle order. India have chosen not to name a replacement in the squad, with any players removed due to injury unable to return to the fold when they recover.

The Australians have also taken precaution over their all-rounder, Marcus Stoinis, with Mitchell Marsh being called in as standby cover for him. The all-rounder picked up a side strain in his side's 36-run loss to India. Stoinis still needs to go through a fitness test before the team decide whether or not to permanently replace the all-rounder in their 15-man squad as ICC regulations will not allow his inclusion at a later stage, should he be left out. 

@SamLudidi - OFM Sport