Nortje suffered the injury while bowling in the first innings of the second Test in Gqeberha on Wednesday, and scans conducted the following day confirmed the issue. The pacer walked off midway through his fourth over on the fourth morning at St George’s Park and did not return, spending the remainder of the match in the dressing room. South Africa fast bowler Anrich Nortje has been ruled out of the series decider against Australia due to a mild groin injury, with Cricket South Africa (CSA) opting against naming a replacement in the squad.
The three-match series is currently locked at 1-1, with the final Test starting at Newlands in Cape Town on Tuesday.
The setback cut short a promising return to Test cricket for Nortje, who had not played a red-ball game in more than three-and-a-half years before the series opener in Durban.
South Africa will now have to choose between Gerald Coetzee, who has not played a Test in nearly two years, all-rounder Corbin Bosch and pacer Dane Paterson to fill the vacancy left by Nortje in the Playing XI. The trio have been with the squad since the first Test. South Africa squad for the third Test: Temba Bavuma (captain), Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Gerald Coetzee, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton and Kyle Verreynne.
