Proteas all-rounder Morris to replace 'injured' Morne Morkel in Champions Trophy squad

South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris will replace paceman Morne Morkel in their ICC Champions Trophy squad, after Morris was ruled out of the tournament because of an injury.

Morkel hurt his groin in Thursday's opening Group B loss to India in Cardiff and has been ruled out for the next three weeks, having been forced to bat as last man with the problem, Sport24 reports.

The report further said that although Morris has yet to play for his country in one-day internationals, he, however has featured in two Twenty20 internationals.

South African team manager Mohammed Moosajee said in a statement that as a MRI scan has confirmed that Morkel has received a Grade 1 injury to his left quadricep muscle, his recovery time will take almost three weeks because the scan also detected a tear to the connecting tissue that surrounds the muscle, ruling him out of the tournament

According to the report, the loss of Morkel will further weaken a South African pace attack that was already missing Dale Steyn against India, whose future participation in the Champions Trophy also remains in doubt.

Stating that the injured Dale Steyn still a 'work of progress', Moosajee said that the challenge for them is that they can only get him bowling once he is completely symptom free, adding that there is a danger of aggravating the injury and going back to square one if fast bowlers like Steyn are allowed to bowl too early.

According to Moosajee, they are taking Steyn's injury day-by-day, adding that they will get a better indication of the extent of the injury during their Birmingham net session.

South Africa next face Pakistan in a likely must-win fixture on Monday, the report added.