In a massive blow to England, pacer Stuart Broad has been ruled out of the remainder of the ongoing Test series against India due to a tear in his right calf, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed.
“England seamer Stuart Broad has sustained a tear to his right calf and has been ruled out of the LV= Insurance Test series against India,” the ECB said in a statement.
“He underwent an MRI scan in London on Wednesday lunchtime, which revealed a tear,” it added.
Broad, who has scalped 524 wickets from 149 Tests, sustained the injury during the warm-up on Tuesday afternoon at Lord’s. After the development, England have called up Lancashire seamer Saqib Mahmood as cover.
After the announcement, Broad took to Twitter and said that he is gutted to miss the Test series, but will cheer his team from his home.
“Things can change so quickly. A moment before training all smiles then during the warm-up, I jumped a hurdle, landed a bit awkwardly on my right ankle then the next step felt like I’d been whipped by a rope as hard as you can imagine on the back of my leg. I actually turned to @jimmya9 & asked why he whipped me,” the 35-year-old wrote.
“But when I realised he was nowhere near me I knew I was in trouble. Scans say grade 3 calf. All so innocuous. Season over & gutted to miss this India Test Series but a huge focus on Australia now. Going to take my time, no rush, baby steps & be the fittest I can be heading out there. Big focus in my brain,” he added.
Meanwhile, there has already been concerns over the availability of James Anderson as he missed the training session on Wednesday due to thigh strain.
Anderson had recently become Test cricket’s third highest wicket-taker during the first Test against India in Nottingham.