Andrew Strauss is excited by Kevin Pietersen's return to the England fold next week ahead of the start of their international battle with South Africa.

Pietersen has been recuperating from surgery to his right Achilles tendon - an injury that forced him to miss the last three Tests of this summer's Ashes - but will link up with England next Monday.

"I'm genuinely excited about having him back," said Strauss, who arrived in Bloemfontein with the England squad on Sunday. "We've missed his quality, we've missed his influence and I also think he's going to come back very refreshed, hungry and motivated."

He added: "When you have a player of that quality with that frame of mind, you can expect him to go out and play really well.

"We don't want him to come back before he's ready, so he's got to make sure he's completely over his injury before we bring him back.

"But it's going to be a great boost for us to have him back in the environment."