South Africa opening batsman Aiden Markram has been ruled out from the remaining Test series against England due to a fracture on his fourth left finger, Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed on Saturday.
Markram's injury will require him to undergo surgery and as a result, the player will be out of action for at least six weeks. The player had suffered a blow to his hand on the second day of the ongoing first Test against England at Centurion.
"Aiden sustained a fracture affecting the distal joint of his left ring finger. After consulting with a number of hand specialists yesterday we arrived at a decision that the best outcome would be achieved through surgical reduction and fixation," CSA's chief medical officer Dr Shuaib Manjra said in an official statement.
"This would mean him, unfortunately, missing the rest of the series against England. We feel for Aiden who worked extremely hard to come through his previous hand fracture sustained in India to be Test match ready," it added.
On the second day of the ongoing Test, South Africa ended at 72/4, with a lead of 175 runs over England.
Rassie van der Dussen and Anrich Nortje are still at the crease for the Proteas.
Earlier in the day, England was bowled out for 181 and it handed the hosts a lead of 103 runs.