England paceman Jofra Archer ruled out of second Test in South Africa

Elbow problem rules out key bowler after opening batsman Burns is ruled out of rest of series due to injury picked up playing football

England bowler Jofra Archer, second left,  chats with physio Craig de Weymarn at Newlands on Thursday, ahead of the second Test in South Africa. Getty

England were hit with more bad news on the morning of the second Test against South Africa, with paceman Jofra Archer ruled out due to an elbow injury.

Opening batsman Rory Burns is set to fly home after injuring ankle ligaments playing football during a warm-up on the eve of the match, and the tourists will now be without their key fast bowler in Cape Town.

Archer experienced pain in his right elbow following the 107-run defeat in Centurion and will now be sent for further assessment as England seek to assess the nature of the problem.

A statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board on Archer said: "He is not fit to play, suffering with a right elbow injury.

"He will not be at the ground today and will have a second scan to determine the extent of the injury."

Burns made 84 in the second innings of the first Test in Centurion, England's highest score in a match which they lost by 107 runs, while Archer's six wickets were the most in the match for the away side.

England captain Joe Root won the toss, his first slice of luck in some time, and opted to bat first in front of a packed Newlands crowd.

"It looks a good surface," said Root. "Hopefully, we can exploit that and get a good first-innings score. What a great venue for everyone to start the new year."

His team sheet contained two recalls, Zak Crawley winning a second cap in Burns' place at the top of the order and spinner Dom Bess making his third England appearance instead of Archer.

South Africa make one change with Pieter Malan making his debut in place of Aiden Markram, who broke his finger during the first Test.

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis: "That's a record-breaking five in a row [lost tosses] for me. I would have batted.

"Always first session day one at Newlands there's something in it. It's a nice window to get three or four in that first session.

"We've only won one Test match. We've got three more against a quality team – it's just the start of the journey for us. We're not going to rest on our laurels and we're going to have to play well."