Reece Topley has been ruled out of England’s first T20 World Cup match against Afghanistan in Perth on Saturday.
If he doesn’t recover rapidly, chances are, he could even miss some more matches.
This is a huge blow for England as Topley’s height can be a huge factor on the hard Australian pitches that offer lot of bounce.
The injury occurred when Topley rolled his ankle on the boundary markings before the team’s warm-up match against Pakistan in Brisbane on Monday.
Topley, 28, has been England’s standout T20 bowler in 2022, claiming 17 wickets at 28.00 in 16 T20Is – which is more than any other England bowler.
He has accomplished this after overcoming a series of injury setbacks, including four back stress fractures in the five years since featuring in England’s 2016 T20 World Cup campaign.
If Topley’s injury is more serious than expected, Tymal Mills might replace him.
Richard Gleeson of Lancashire is also among the team’s travelling reserves.
Gleeson played in two of England’s seven games on last month’s tour of Pakistan, while Mills has only played twice since June.
David Willey and Sam Curran are two other left-arm seamers on the original 15-man squad.