McSkimming was ruled out of Otago's opening match of the State Championship against Northern Districts last week, after picking up a calf injury a couple of weeks ago.
He was confident of returning to today's match in Invercargill but had to prove his fitness in a club game on Saturday. But while bowling, McSkimming put his foot in a hole, and re-injured his calf.
Otago coach Mike Hesson said the injury was still being assessed so it was unclear how long McSkimming would be unavailable.
Hesson said with the injury, Otago would now take in the same 12 players which took first innings points in the match against Northern Districts at the University Oval. The final side would be picked this morning after a close look at the pitch. Sam Wells carried the drinks in last week's match.
A round of districts cricket had been played at Queens Park earlier this season and Hesson said the pitch had played true, with reasonably even bounce, and he was hoping for a similar sort of track.
Hesson said he was pleased with the performance of the side in the match last week, despite taking a long time to get past Northern Districts in a game which turned into a one innings affair.
"People who criticise us for slow scoring are showing a bit of ignorance. The pitch was very slow and we did what we were required," Hesson said.
Hesson was pleased with the performance of two new Otago players last week, Ian Butler and Neil Wagner, with Butler showing plenty of fire with the ball and composure with the bat. Wagner grabbed wickets at the top of the order.
He also praised batsman Neil Broom, who scored 54 in a tad under five hours, but Hesson said it was good to see Broom show some patience.
Canterbury is the defending champion, but has had a disappointing start to its season, losing both its games to Auckland and Wellington.
The weather forecast is mixed for the next four days.
