Batsman Herschelle Gibbs is set to be given an unexpected recall to the South Africa team for the third Test despite being dropped for the rest of the series on Thursday.

His replacement Neil McKenzie tore a calf muscle in the second Test at Cape Town, which the Proteas won by seven wickets to level the three-match series, and Gibbs will come back into the team for the deciding Test at Durban, according to a report by news agency Reuters.

Fast bowler Dale Steyn, who claimed eight wickets at Newlands, despite injuring his hamstring, could be replaced by the in-form Monde Zondeki if he fails to recover.

Skipper Graeme Smith partly attributed the injuries to the unusually long grass in the outfield at Cape Town, which made boundaries hard to come by in the Test.

“With the outfield being heavy, we knew one or two guys were going to struggle and the conditions would take their toll,” Smith told reporters on Saturday.  

West Indies also have their share of injury problems with skipper Chris Gayle suffering a broken left thumb at Cape Town after being struck by a short ball from Andre Nel and he also aggravated a hamstring problem. Fast bowler Fidel Edwards, a key man with his 90 miles-per-hour thunderbolts, is also struggling with a hamstring injury.

The third Test begins at Kingsmead, Durban on Thursday.