- Temba Bavuma is going for medical scans on an elbow injury suffered in the fourth T20 international against India in Rajkot last Friday.
- The Proteas captain's tour to England and Ireland next month could be at risk if scans show extensive damage.
- Their schedule includes three ODIs in England, three T20s and three Tests, with two T20s against Ireland squeezed in before the red-ball action.
Proteas captain Temba Bavuma is going for medical scans on Tuesday on an elbow injury suffered in the fourth T20 international against India in Rajkot last Friday.
Bavuma sustained the injury when diving for the crease during SA's 82-run loss to the hosts that squared the five-match series 2-all, with Sunday's fifth game decider getting washed out.
Bavuma, who is critical to SA's three formats, as he skippers the white-ball teams and forms the fulcrum of the Test team, is at risk of missing the England and Ireland touring party depending on the extent of the elbow injury.
The Proteas have a few weeks' break before travelling to England for three ODIs, three T20s and three Tests, with two T20s against Ireland squeezed in before the red-ball action.
"Temba is going for a scan today (Tuesday), so until he's scanned, we're not too sure [about the extent of the injury]," Proteas head coach Mark Boucher said on Tuesday.
"We were really worried after the actual injury because he couldn't bend his arm at all but this morning, he was able to bend it, so that was some good news.
"We wanted to wait until he got back to South Africa to do the scan. I'm sure we'll get feedback later from our medical team."
Bavuma struggled in India recently, posting 10, 35, 8 and 8* in his outings. His strike rate also asked questions of the skipper but Boucher was the least concerned.
The coach said Bhuvneshwar Kumar proved to be Bavuma's undoing. Kumar, however, dismissed Bavuma once, while Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel claimed his wicket in the other two matches.
Bavuma retired hurt after his elbow strain in the fourth match.
"There's no doubt Temba struggled on tour but, as coaches, we sit and say why did he struggle?" said Boucher.
"So, firstly, he struggled against one bowler, Kumar. And most of the guys struggled against him as well, so let's give him credit where it's due. Kumar is a fantastic bowler, especially in those conditions.
"There were times when the ball was swinging a lot, which makes him very dangerous and the ball was up and down quite a lot, especially with the new ball.
"We look at that particular bowler and say how do we give him more options? We've spoken about it.
"It's quite difficult for him to change up during a series where you basically travel and then play. He hasn't played a lot of cricket either.
"To come into a T20 series, opening the batting and try to be on it from the get-go was always going to be quite tough on him.
"There's no major concern. He wants to score better and quicker. He's got his way of playing the game and picks up boundaries in different ways to, say, Rassie van der Dussen or Aiden Markram.
"It's just one period of play and one particular bowler that we need to work on."