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Brydon Carse is set to miss England’s must-win Champions Trophy clash against Afghanistan on Wednesday, placing concerns over his availability for the rest of the tournament.
Carse missed the last two one-day internationals against India due to a blister on a left toe that required stitches, which were taken out last week, allowing him to play in England’s five-wicket defeat by Australia.
The fast bowler struggled in England’s Champions Trophy opener in Lahore on Saturday, going at almost 10 runs an over with figures of 7-0-69-1, and he has suffered a reoccurrence of the injury.
Carse missed training on Monday and it is unlikely he will be risked against Afghanistan at the Gaddafi Stadium, where England almost certainly need to claim victory to keep their semi-final hopes alive.
The truncated nature of the tournament puts serious doubts on Carse regaining fitness for England’s last Group B game against South Africa on Saturday while the final is less than a fortnight away.
England batter Joe Root told the BBC: “We will have to wait and see. There is still a good way out from the game, to find exactly what is up with Carsey. We will see how things pan out over the next few days.”
England are permitted to make a change to their 15-strong squad in the event Carse cannot recover in the next couple of weeks, which must be ratified by the International Cricket Council.
The injury may also present a problem for Carsse’s participation in the Indian Premier League, having been snapped up Sunrisers Hyderabad, captained by Australia’s Pat Cummins, for £100,000 in the auction.
While not a like-for-like Champions Trophy replacement, leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed may be the front-runner to be drafted in as he was an unused squad member during England’s recent white-ball tour of India.
Ahmed offers England an extra dimension to their attack after their quicks struggled against Australia, with Carse, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer uniting for figures of three for 226 from 26.3 overs.
Adil Rashid, supplemented by Root and Liam Livingstone, took a combined two for 120 from 21 overs on a pitch that showed signs of variable bounce before the evening dew helped the ball skid on under lights.
England racked up the highest total in Champions Trophy history at the weekend, amassing 351 for eight, before it was overtaken just a few hours later as Australia won with 15 balls to spare.
With Afghanistan also beaten in their tournament opener – as South Africa claimed a 107-run win in Karachi on Friday – whoever loses in Lahore in midweek is likely staring at an early exit.
