Injured Boje may be out for up to four months

Left-arm spinner Nicky Boje may be out of action for up to four months as he returns to South Africa on Friday for surgery on his left shoulder and to rest his right knee.

Boje played in the first four tests of South Africa's tour of the West Indies, a series in which the tourists took an unassailable 2-0 lead after victory by 82 runs in the fourth test in Antigua on Tuesday.

"Nicky needs surgery on a tendon injury in his left shoulder," South Africa team physiotherapist Craig Smith said as the squad boarded a ferry for Montserrat where they are playing a one-day game against a Vice-Chancellor's XI on Thursday.

"It's the kind of procedure that requires three to four months of recuperation, but it could be more and it could be less.

"He also needs to rest his right knee which has been causing him problems for some time now and is actually the more serious of the two problems."

Smith added: "He played in both the third and fourth test matches despite being troubled by both injuries, so we took the decision to send him home after the series was decided."

Mail Cricket Editor