Essex all-rounder Wiaan Mulder has returned home to South Africa for personal reasons and will miss the County Championship match against Warwickshire, which starts on Friday.

The 28-year-old was due to play the club’s first seven red-ball games and also be available for the early part of the T20 Blast, which begins next month.

He has scored 48 runs and taken one wicket in Essex’s two games so far, in which they beat Hampshire by an innings before losing by 10 wickets to Somerset.

The club say he has only left Chelmsford “temporarily” and they are “fully supportive” of his decision.

An update on his return will be “announced in due course”.

Mulder has played 65 internationals for South Africa across all three formats, scoring 1,696 runs and taking 72 wickets.

Last year he helped them become world Test champions, defeating Australia by five wickets in the final at Lord’s.