Hardus Viljoen is fit again and ready for his first-class debut for Derbyshire when his side meet Worcestershire on Friday.

He missed the first two matches of Derbyshire’s County Championship season through injury. He has, however, featured in five Royal London One Day Cup matches, in which he took six wickets at an average of 44.66.

‘I’m looking forward to bowling with the red ball. It gives you a bit more assistance on the type of wickets that we play on here and you can be aggressive,’ Viljoen told Derbyshire’s website.

Viljoen admits that while he is showing signs of improvement, he is still searching for his best form after a three-month injury lay-off.

‘You tend to get a bit rusty if you haven’t played for three months through an injury, but it’s no excuse, you still need to be able to perform. I feel I’m getting better with every game and it’s a process that I need to allow myself to follow and remain patient. The right performances will come at the right time,’ he added.

He will be hoping to find form similar to that which he showed for former County Kent in 2016. During the first-class season, Viljoen captured 20 wickets in four matches at an average of 19.00.

Viljoen played one Test match for the Proteas against England in 2016 before signing a three-year Kolpak contract with Derbyshire last year.