Stuart Broad ankle injury adds to England's bowling woes

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Stuart Broad of Nottinghamshire bowls during the Specsavers County Championship Division One match between Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire at Trent Bridge 
Stuart Broad's injured ankle may keep him out until the first Test against India starts on Aug 1

Stuart Broad has added to England’s bowling injury problems after complaining of soreness in his left ankle while bowling for Nottinghamshire in their championship match against Worcestershire.


Broad had a scan on Friday and will know the results over the weekend as England contemplate how to manage their fast bowlers with a gruelling five Tests against India in six weeks starting on Aug 1.

James Anderson was given a six-week break by the England management to rest his chronic shoulder injury in order to be fit for the India series and Broad will also now be given time off. 

Anderson is hoping to be fit for the Roses match starting on July 22 but Broad may now not play against until the first Test.

England will have to rotate their bowlers during the India series which has been packed into August and the first 11 days of September so India can play in the Asia Cup which starts two days after the fifth Test at the Oval.






 

 Broad has had left ankle problems before and the joint swelled up after bowling 22 overs in the game against Worcestershire, his first match since the second Test against Pakistan at the start of June.

With Broad and Anderson, who described the India schedule as "ridiculous", it is about managing their diaries and ensuring they are at their peak for the start of a series.

Both managed to play all five Ashes Tests in the winter but were exhausted by the time the fifth Test in Sydney started.

It should be easier to rotate them in a home series and England are desperate for back-up bowlers to start performing and provide some competition for places.

“Stuart's sore ankle has been ongoing and it was stirred up a little bit when he landed in the footholds, so it made sense for him to come off the field when it was too sore for him to bowl," said Peter Moores, 

Nottinghamshire’s head coach. "It is manageable, but he has a lot of cricket to play in the rest of the summer." 



 Broad will be fit for the first Test but England are carrying a lot of injuries at the moment. Ben Stokes will return this week from a torn hamstring when he makes a rare appearance for Durham in the Vitality Blast Twenty20 against Yorkshire on Thursday. 

He will play only as a batsman but England named him in their squad on Friday for the three match one-day series with India and he is expected to be back bowling by then.

Chris Woakes, another first choice seamer, is injured and no date has been put on his return as he recovers from a torn quad and an injection to ease tendonitis in his right knee.

“It [India schedule] is chaos. I am sure at some point rotation will come into it. It will be difficult to keep the same three or four bowlers throughout the series,” said Woakes. 

“As a player you think you are capable of doing it but I would like to think by the time August first comes round I have got cricket under my belt and in best possible place I can be to get through five Tests if selected.”