Steyn undergoes scan for bruised left heel

South Africa's fears were realised on Saturday (January 6) when Dale Steyn failed to get through his first full day in the field without injury.

Steyn was taken to the hospital for a scan on his left heel after pulling up midway through his 18th over, shortly before Tea on day two of the first Test against India at Newlands.

The fast bowler's initial reaction at the time of the injury suggested that it was nothing serious - although he stopped his run-up and immediately threw the ball to Vernon Philander to complete the over, he jogged part of the way off the field, stopping occasionally to grab his boot.

While there were suggestions that he may have had nothing more than a problem with his boot, he did not emerge from the dressing room after Tea, when it transpired that he was being treated and assessed for a bruised heel. He was later taken to a nearby hospital to determine the extent of the problem.

The match against India was Steyn's first Test since November 2016, and only his fifth since November 2015. After picking up a groin strain in the first Test of South Africa's 2015 tour of India, the 34-year-old twice injured his right shoulder - with the second time being the most severe.

Steyn came into this series without a first-class match under his belt, with coach Ottis Gibson saying it would be a risk to pick him in a three-man pace attack. Yet Steyn's form was good enough for Gibson to convince South Africa's selectors to include him in a four-man pace attack, a move that looked all the wiser on Saturday afternoon.