Injury-jinxed South African fast bowler Allan Donald is out of Tuesday's Standard Bank one-day international against Sri Lanka in Paarl and quite possibly Thursday's match at Newlands after having an abscess in his right elbow drained.

Donald has been hors d' combat since the second Test match against New Zealand at St George's Park at the beginning of December when he strained a stomach muscle. He has, by all accounts, recovered from that injury, but he spent most of the weekend in a nursing home after having the abscess drained under general anaesthetic before joining the South African squad in Cape Town on Sunday.

The 34-year-old Donald took his 300th Test wicket against New Zealand in Bloemfontein, but has since struggled to get on, and stay on, the field.

He missed the third Test against New Zealand as well as the first two ODIs and Test matches against Sri Lanka and although the South African camp was optimistic that he would be ready for Thursday's game, a more realistic date for his return might be the fifth ODI in Bloemfontein on January 14.

Another South African fast bowler, Roger Telemachus, also did not bowl in the nets on Sunday because of a stiff neck. This, however, was simply the result of sleeping badly and he is expected to play on Tuesday.

In the event of a crisis, South Africa do have bowling backup in hand in the shape of Justin Kemp, the Eastern Province allrounder who is in the squad for the first time. Kemp said that he felt the way to break into the South African team would be as a bowler, and as a result he has managed to add a yard of pace over the past year.

In the Sri Lankan camp, meanwhile, legspinner Upul Chandana has broken a finger at net practice and will probably miss the rest of the tour. He is not expected to fly home immediately and will see a specialist in Cape Town on Wednesday. With the tourists visiting Robben Island on Sunday, speculation that former Sri Lankan captain Aravinda de Silva was being flown to South Africa to bolster the batting could not be confirmed.

© CricInfo