Stress fracture leaves Topley ‘devastated’

England

Further complications have struck the selection of England’s limited-overs squad, with Reece Topley no longer being available for consideration.

The latest recurrence of the Hampshire quick’s lower-back injury has been diagnosed as a stress fracture and the player is certain to be unavailable for the rest of the Sri Lanka tour as well as a significant portion of his county’s Championship season.

"Reece Topley has been diagnosed with a partial stress fracture of the lumbar spine and will require a significant period of rehabilitation," an ECB spokesman said.

"He will miss the next three months and aim for a return with Hampshire before the end of the season."

The 22-year-old has been struggling with injuries to his lower back since the 2013/14 season with the expected cause being his workload after he burst onto the county scene as a 19-year-old.

"I was completely devastated to hear the news," Topley told the Hampshire website. "I just want to play for Hampshire and contribute to their cricket."

Topley moved to The Ageas Bowl from Essex at the start of this season but is yet to bowl a single delivery for his new county team after being struck on the hand by Warwickshire’s Boyd Rankin in his debut match, which sidelined him fore several weeks.

The player has been an excellent performer for England with the white ball, averaging 25.62 from 10 ODIs.

This fresh setback for the ECB comes only a day after doctors informed them that allrounder Ben Stokes will be missing the remainder of the Sri Lanka series due to requiring minor knee surgery.

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