South Africa skipper Graeme Smith has recovered from the injury and is likely to return for the five-match one-day series against Australia, starting in Durban on Friday.
Smith had sustained a fracture to the little finger of his right hand when he was struck by a delivery from Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson during the second Test in Durban, earlier this month.
The injury forced Smith to miss the third Test in Cape Town and the two Twenty20 Internationals, which followed.
The Proteas are also battling other injury worries with experienced all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who picked up a groin injury during the third Test, is uncertain to return for the first one-dayer.
”We’ll just have to assess him when he gets to Durban early this week,” Owen-Smith said.
The South Africans have called up rookie all-rounder Van der Merwe, who is expected to play in the first two one-dayers if Kallis fails to recover on time.
