Flintoff has struggled with the long-term injury for more than a year

England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will play in the final Test against South Africa after having a cortisone injection in his left ankle.

Flintoff went to see a specialist on Wednesday morning to assess the recurring injury, which flared up again because of his recent heavy workload.

Whether he requires surgery on the troublesome bone spur will be decided after the Test series finishes.

He could miss the one-day matches which follow in order to have the operation.

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Surgery is likely to rule Flintoff out for at least three months.

England physio Kirk Russell said: "Injecting cortisone into the joint rather than into the Achilles tendon is the best way to treat it and we have been doing that.

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"It is a chronic condition and if the problem persists you've got to look at surgery."

The final one-day match takes place in Centurion on 13 February, with the next international involvement for Michael Vaughan's team the first of two Tests with Bangladesh, beginning on 26 May.

Russell also revealed a calf injury suffered by key pace bowler Steve Harmison could deteriorate if he plays in the match at Centurion Park.

"He was able to do a job for us and he's probably going to be a little better for the next Test, but I can't guarantee it won't get worse," he explained.

"Steve underwent an ultrasound scan and the results were basically the same as the first one he had, which is a good sign because there is still no muscle tear there.

"There is swelling in the muscle and he could tear it. Ideally he would need to rest for two weeks."