- A hamstring injury to limited over captain Temba Bavuma has added to the Proteas woes after their 2-1 series defeat to Pakistan.
- The Proteas also lost star batter Rassie van der Dussen before the decisive third ODI in Centurion.
- South Africa next face Pakistan in a three-match T20 series starting at the Wanderers on Saturday.
A hamstring injury to limited over captain Temba Bavuma has added to the Proteas' woes after their 2-1 series defeat to Pakistan on Wednesday.
Bavuma needed medical attention during the deciding third ODI in Centurion that the visitors won by 28 runs after another stellar Fakhar Zaman ton.
After losing Rassie van der Dussen moments before the toss through injury, the list of unavailable internationals for the T20 series starting at the Wanderers on Saturday could grow to seven with Bavuma's loss.
South Africa are already without five players who have left for Indian Premier League (IPL) duty: Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Quinton de Kock, David Miller and Lungi Ngidi.
Head coach Mark Boucher said the initial prognosis was not looking good for his top batsmen Van der Dussen and Bavuma.
"It's not looking good," said Boucher.
"Rassie has between a grade 1 and a grade 2 quad strain, which means that he is probably out for 10 days [as of Tuesday].
"I'd be stupid to try to push him into playing these T20 games [but] he's still staying in the squad and hoping he can have a quick turnaround. But it doesn't look likely that he'll be able to get on the park.
"Temba is quite a tough guy, so when you see him hobbling around and the way he's walking in the changeroom it makes you think he might have done something pretty bad.
"He seems to be in quite a bit of pain as well. It doesn't look good, unfortunately, and doesn't put us in a good position at the start of the T20 series."
The three-match series was Bavuma's first as skipper after succeeding Quinton de Kock in March, with Dean Elgar assuming the Test captaincy reins.
And it's unlikely that he will complete his coronation with a T20 series following the hamstring injury, a severe drawback in a T20 World Cup year.