England's demoralising one-day series against Australia took another dispiriting turn when all-rounder Luke Wright was injured in the nets.

The Sussex player, whose fast-improving seamers and powerful late-order hitting form a key part of the side's limited-overs strategy, was struck on the big toe of his left foot while batting against the bowling machine in Loughborough.

Stitches were applied to the wound and he will undergo a fitness test this morning to determine his availability.

If he is declared unfit, Hampshire skipper Dimitri Mascarenhas, who linked up with the team at short notice, could be called on as a like-for-like replacement.

Wright's injury comes at the worst possible time for England, who have lost all four ODIs following their Ashes success and have three more matches to add a sheen of respectability, starting in Nottingham on Tuesday.

To make matters worse, the team's most experienced one-day all-rounder, Paul Collingwood, has been excused from the Trent Bridge double-header to allow rest.

Despite the setback, seam bowler Stuart Broad has called on his team-mates to put their words into action with a morale-boosting display at his home ground.

"We've done a lot talking during the first four games but it's all about actions now," Broad said ahead of the fifth match.

"There's only so much Andy (Flower, England team director) can say for it to sink in and for us to learn from our mistakes.

"Australia have played well, especially their bowling, but when we look at ourselves our batting hasn't been as good as we want it to.

"We've obviously been making the same mistakes which isn't acceptable.

"The only place we can change that is out on the pitch and we need to do that at Trent Bridge."

Critics of the inflated seven-match series have suggested the remaining three fixtures, two at Trent Bridge and the last in Durham, offer nothing to play for.

But with the Champions Trophy in South Africa due to start before the end of the month, Broad believes the stakes remain high.

"Every international game is very important," said Broad.

"We need to improve because there's a lot of one-day cricket coming up. When we finished (the Ashes) I think it was 22 or 23 games on the bounce which is pretty unheard of.

"One-day cricket tests out a lot of different skills. I thoroughly enjoy playing it and a lot of the boys enjoy playing it, it's just that we need to get a little bit better at it.

"The series is gone which is disappointing but there's a lot of one-day cricket to come and we need to start building momentum coming up to the Champions Trophy."