Follow UsIn what comes as yet another blow to Anrich Nortje, the tearaway quick has sustained back stress injury and is out of action for an indefinite period of time.
Nortje was initially named in South Africa’s Champions Trophy 2025 squad, but a back injury meant that he had to be pulled out of the competition. He then played two games in IPL 2025 for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) but had a rough time there, taking a solitary wicket at an economy of 11.9.
Now South Africa’s head coach Shukri Conrad has confirmed that the pacer, who is absent from the ongoing MLC 2025 season, has suffered yet another setback, once again injuring his back.
"We will have to see the length of the time that he will be out and the extent of the injury. I really feel for him," Conrad said, reported ESPNCricinfo.
"He is a superstar fast bowler and having to deal with setback after setback can't be easy. We will wait to see how serious it is.”
Considering the same injury has now affected Nortje multiple times, Conrad admitted that South Africa are ‘worried’ when it comes to the speedster.
"Naturally we are worried. In Anrich's case this is the second or third stress reaction in his back. It is too early to make a diagnosis and we are definitely not drawing a line through this name,” he said.
But Conrad asserted that South Africa will give Nortje ‘every chance’ to make a comeback.
“He is 31 years old and we are going to give him every chance to come back. We will have to see what the medical team think is the best way forward."
Since April 2023, Nortje has only played 13 games for South Africa, with 11 of them being T20 appearances. He’s played only two ODIs and last played a Test back in March 2023.