South Africa's injured make recoveries

South Africa expect to be back to full strength for their final group match against Bangladesh on Saturday. AB de Villiers, Imran Tahir and Dale Steyn have recovered from their respective injuries and will undergo fitness tests on Friday to confirm their availability.

"We will have a fully fit 15-man squad to choose from," Mohammed Mossajee, the team manager, said in Dhaka. "It's been a busy couple of days managing everyone but they're all fine now."

de Villiers strained a muscle in his left thigh during the match against India in Nagpur five days ago and was rested for the game against Ireland on Tuesday. Moosajee said his rehabilitation was "progressing well," and he should be able to take to the field on Saturday. There is no update on his stiff back, which has prevented him from wicketkeeping in the last three matches he played. South Africa used Morne van Wyk behind the stumps and it's likely that he will continue in that role with de Villiers returning as a specialist batsman.

Legspinner Tahir fractured his left thumb while taking a catch of his own bowling against England two weeks ago. Although the injury was not on his bowling hand, he was advised ten days rest and the selection committee decided to enforce the period immediately after the diagnosis was made. They could have risked playing Tahir against India and left him out of the matches against Ireland and Bangladesh.

"Strictly speaking, ten days would be tomorrow, so there is no reason why he shouldn't be considered for the Bangladesh match," Moosajee said. Tahir's fitness test will also include fielding drills and batting in the nets to ensure that he is not in any danger of aggravating the injury.

Steyn sustained a small niggle on his side while bowling against Ireland. He completed four overs in his first spell, before he felt some discomfort and was taken off as a precaution after that. "It has turned out not to be as serious as we initially thought," Moosajee said. "He has had some physiotherapy and should be fit."

Injuries haven't been the only concern in the South African camp, with illness also affecting some of their players. A few of them, like Colin Ingram who made his World Cup debut against Ireland, picked up stomach bugs over the past week. Moosajee said all of them had recovered.