South African veteran fast bowler Dale Steyn has been ruled out of South Africa’s World Cup 2019 opener against England.

The 35-year-old pacer injured his shoulder while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the recently concluded IPL and the Proteas have decided not to risk further injury at The Oval on Thursday.

“He’s not quite ready yet, not far away but not ready,” Proteas head coach Ottis Gibson said.

“We think with a six-week tournament there’s no real need to force the issue just now. He won’t be available for the first game. We’ve still got 14 others so we’ll choose from them.”

Steyn has not bowled competitively since pulling out of the IPL in April, having only played two games.