Nortje sidelined from Champions Trophy due to back injury

South Africa's hopes for the Champions Trophy have taken a hit as Anrich Nortje has been forced out of the tournament due to a back injury. Nortje, who last played international cricket at the T20 World Cup in June, was set to return for the white-ball series against Pakistan before suffering a toe injury in the nets. Despite being unable to play for his SA20 franchise, Pretoria Capitals, Nortje's absence will be sorely felt by South Africa. The team is expected to announce a replacement for Nortje in the Champions Trophy squad soon.

Gerald Coetzee, who has returned to action for the Joburg Super Kings after sustaining a groin injury in the Durban Test against Sri Lanka last November is the likeliest replacement. South Africa's white-ball coach Rob Walter, who is also the sole selector of his squads, explained his initial selection was a straight shootout between Nortje and Coetzee, and he opted for Nortje's experience over Coetzee. He also indicated he was confident in Nortje being declared fit. "He's an ultimate professional. He looks after himself, takes care of his conditioning. From my side, I trust him and trust that he'll be ready to go," Walter said on Monday.

Just over 48 hours later, a Cricket South Africa press release said Nortje had undergone scans on Monday afternoon and "is not expected to recover in time for the 50-over tournament."

This is the third time in the last six ICC events that Nortje has been ruled out through injury, and all of them are ODI tournaments. He was due to play at the 2019 World Cup but broke his thumb in the lead-up to the tournament, then missed the 2023 World Cup with a suspected stress fracture of the lower back and is now out of the 2025 Champions Trophy. Nortje has played in all three T20 World Cups he has been available for - 2021, 2022 and 2024 - but has opted out of a national contract as he aimed to manage his workloads. He has not played ODIs since September 2023 and Tests since March 2023.

In a summer where South Africa suffered a spate of fast bowling injuries, Nortje's is among the most severe. Coetzee, Lungi Ngidi (both groin) and Wiaan Mulder (broken finger) have all returned to play but Nandre Burger (lower back stress fracture) and Lizaad Williams (knee) are out for the rest of the season.