Aiden Markram fractures finger, ruled out of England Test series

Markram sustained a fracture to his “fourth left finger” during the second day of the Boxing Day Test at Centurion, and will require surgery. The procedure is scheduled for early next week, and he is expected to be sidelined “for at least six weeks”.

“Aiden sustained a fracture affecting the distal joint of his left ring finger,” CSA’s chief medical officer Dr. Shuaib Manjra said. “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.

“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’s a big blow for Markram, who was in a race against time to be fit for the England series, having fractured his wrist during South Africa’s tour of England. That injury ruled him out of the Mzansi Super League, and it took a full eight weeks for him to recover from that, only to be laid low within two days of the ongoing four-Test series against England.

Markram scored 20 and 2 in his two outings so far in the Test. South Africa are still in a commanding position, ending the second day at 72/4 in their second innings, with a lead of 175 after bowling England out for 181.