England in South Africa: Rory Burns out of tour with football injury

England opener Rory Burns has been ruled out of the tour of South Africa after damaging his left ankle playing football during practice.

The 29-year-old, England's top scorer in the first Test last week, sustained ligament damage and will return home.

Fast bowler Jofra Archer did not train on Thursday because of soreness in his right elbow and has also had a scan.

England, 1-0 down in the four-Test series, will confirm their team for Friday's second Test in the morning.

Paceman Mark Wood is yet to return to match fitness, while spinner Jack Leach has been ruled out through illness.

Batsman Dom Sibley is expected to be fit after coming down with the sickness bug that has swept through the squad.

Surrey left-hander Burns made his Test debut in November 2018 and has scored 979 runs from his first 15 matches at an average of 33, with six fifties and two centuries.

In October 2018, Jonny Bairstow was sidelined after also suffering an ankle injury during a game of football in training.

Last year, England director of cricket Ashley Giles told skipper Joe Root he thought playing football before matches was too dangerous.

Speaking before news of the Burns injury emerged, Root told BBC Sport: "We've had some very frustrating moments on this tour so far but we've got some very talented players to pick from and we know whoever gets the opportunity will give us a great chance to win the game."

'All options are on the table at this point'

Archer has 30 wickets from his first seven Tests

Archer, 24, claimed his third five-wicket haul in only his seventh Test with 5-102 from 17 overs in the second innings of the 107-run defeat in the opening match of the series at Centurion.

Root said: "We don't really want to go into a game with him not being 100% and we also don't want to see him potentially miss a lot more cricket through playing him when he's not fit."

England may decide on a spinner and, with Leach out, their choices are Somerset off-spinner Dom Bess or Lancashire leg-spinner Matt Parkinson.

Bess, 22, played two home Tests against Pakistan in 2018, taking three wickets with a best of 3-33 at Headingley, while Parkinson is yet to make his Test debut.

The 23-year-old played two T20 matches in New Zealand in November, taking five wickets.

"All options are on the table at this point," Root said of his XI for Cape Town. "It's a great opportunity for them both to train well and put a case forward and then we'll make a decision."

Root insisted England's two all-time leading Test wicket-takers James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who have 1,053 wickets between them, can still provide his team with sufficient firepower.

Anderson has 27 wickets in nine matches in South Africa, while Broad has captured 36 in nine Tests.

"They've performed time and time again in South Africa and all around the world, they've got great knowledge of how to exploit surfaces in this country," the captain said.

"If Jofra is not available, he will be sorely missed but there is a huge amount of experience, which we feel should be able to get 20 wickets."

Du Plessis plays down quota controversy

Meanwhile, South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis said that batsman Temba Bavuma was fit again but would not return to the team, with Rassie van der Dussen retaining his place after scoring a fifty on debut last week.

The absence of Bavuma, who has a Test average of 31, means that, for the second match in succession, the hosts are falling short of Cricket South Africa's ethnic quota policy for team selection. Under that policy - intended to help redress imbalances created during South Africa's apartheid era - the team should contain at least two black Africans and four others from the country's mixed-race and Indian communities.

"We don't see colour and it's important that people understand that," Du Plessis said. "Opportunity is very important for any colour and it's important to be fair to every player to give them a chance."