JOHANNESBURG: South African captain AB de Villiers, struggling to recover from a left elbow injury, will miss a one-off one-day international against Ireland in Benoni on Sunday.

The world’s number one-ranked one-day international batsman is also in doubt for a five-match series against Australia, which starts in Centurion on September 30.

Cricket South Africa announced on Thursday that De Villiers had been given “an extended period of rehabilitation” and his participation in the series against Australia would be subject to a fitness test. He suffered the injury in August and did not play in two Test matches against New Zealand later that month.

Faf du Plessis, who captained the team against New Zealand, will again stand in as captain against Ireland.—AFP