London, Nov 3 England captain Andrew Strauss is counting the days until explosive batsman Kevin Pietersen comes back into the team.

"I'm genuinely excited about having Kevin back. We've missed his quality and influence," skipper Strauss admitted.

"I'm sure he will come back very refreshed, hungry and motivated," The Sun quoted him, as saying.

Pietersen was not with the England squad, which arrived in South Africa on Sunday. He has still not fully recovered from the Achilles operation that has sidelined him since July.

But he was in the nets last week and is due to join the squad next Monday.

"We don't want Kevin to come back before he is ready," Strauss added. (ANI)