The Iron Man of fast bowling is handicapped by tendonitis in his right knee and has had to be omitted from the West Indies 11 for the four-day match against Orange Free State, starting here today.

It is the last rehearsal before the first Test against South Africa starts in Johannesburg next Friday.

Dennis Waight, the physiotherapist who has nursed Walsh's various ailments all through his lengthy career, last night placed his charge's fitness at 75 per cent but would venture no predictions as to whether he would be ready.

History strongly indicates that he will.

In all that time of sweat and toil in the causes of the West Indies, his native Jamaica and his adopted Gloucestershire, Walsh has missed only one Test through injury, against India at Kensington Oval last year when he had to give in to a strained hamstring muscle.

He has repeatedly disregarded injuries that would have kept lesser men on the physio's table. Most notably, he bowled with a painfully cricked neck to help the West Indies to a famous, series-level victory over India under his captaincy in India in 1994.

In early 1997, again under his leadership, he interrupted Waight's treatment of the same hamstring that was to defeat him in Barbados, limped onto the field and took five Australian wickets in a face-saving win at Perth.

As his colleagues did lively sprints yesterday around Springbok Park, venue for the Free State match, and took to the nets that were forced indoors because of the heavy rain of the previous day and night, Walsh cut a sorry figure. He was clearly careful not to extend himself as he trotted around the boundary and, later, with manager Clive Lloyd, delivered the drinks to the indoor facility.

``Look what the old men have been reduced to,'' quipped the 54-year-old Lloyd who was captain when Walsh, now 36, made his Test debut in Perth in 1984.

Walsh is only two wickets away from passing Malcolm Marshall's West Indies record of 376 Test wickets, incentive enough for him to be ready when play is called in Johannesburg. But it is his competitive edge and his fierce determination, as much as Waight's expertise, that will be the decisive factors in the end.

Lara made it plain yesterday that he would rely on Walsh to make the final decision.

``As long as he gets himself fit, he's a true professional and he knows what it takes to perform at this level in a Test match,'' the captain said. ``We are expecting 100 per cent from each individual and, if they are not capable of doing that, they will inform us and we'll have to look somewhere else.''