'Injury-plagued' Steyn speaks on recovery, eyes return

South Africa pace spearhead Dale Steyn, who is currently recovering from a shoulder injury, has insisted that he could be back into the nets by the end of January next year.

The 33-year-old got his right shoulder fractured during Australia's first innings of the opening Test against South Africa, which the Proteas went on to win by massive 177 runs at the WACA Ground in Perth.

It was later revealed that he might require surgery and would be sidelined from bowling until at least next May.

It prompted many to believe that it could be the end of career for the Proteas pacer. However, he is determined to make a return to the national side and identified next year's England tour in July as a possible return date.

"It's going okay so far. I'm seeing the physio two or three times a week ... to get some movement and some blood flow through there," Sport24 quoted Steyn as saying.

"I guess I'll take December to recover and probably most of January too. By the end of January or maybe early February I'll probably start to lightly bowl," he added.

Injury-prone Steyn had earlier got his shoulder injured while surfing last December and eventually missed the opportunity to represent his country in most matches against England.

Steyn, who notched up a total of 417 wickets at an average of 22.30 since making his Test debut in 2004, needs just five more wickets to overtake Shaun Pollock (421) as South Africa's most successful Test bowler.