Herschelle Gibbs and Allan Donald are South Africa's two injury worries ahead of the first Test against Australia which starts on Friday. Donald, who has not played a Test since March, injured his toe during the the warm-up match against Western Australia at the weekend, but his main concern remains his lack of rhythm after so long on the sidelines.

"All the hype about the toe and the boot and all that is a load of rubbish to be honest," he said. "I'm nearly there but the confidence to go into a Test against the Aussies is a different thing.

"If the selectors want me to play the consideration is that I might not have played enough cricket to justify playing in the first Test but I'm confident and I'd back myself to do the job if they want me to play. "I'm nearly there but the confidence to go into a Test match against Australia is a different thing but I've always backed myself and I'll back myself again."

Gibbs suffered a groin strain during the match against Western Australia and sat out the second innings. South Africa's physiotherapist, Craig Smith, said he was optimistic that Gibbs would recover in time but that a decision would be left until he had undergone a course of intensive treatment. If Gibbs fails to recover he will be replaced by Jacques Rudolph.

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