Ollie Pope has been ruled out of the rest of the Ashes series after dislocating his right shoulder during the second Test match at Lord’s.
The England cricket vice-captain first sustained the injury on the first day of a thrilling and controversial second Test.
Pope was originally treating his injury with ice, but a scan of the shoulder on Monday revealed the extent of the problem.
He left the field for the rest of the first innings, but England understood they would not be allowed to use a substitute fielder, and he appeared to worsen the problem in the second innings.
It is the third time Pope has dislocated his shoulder and will be a cause of concern for England, although on the last occasion, it was his left, rather than right.
He first suffered the injury playing for Surrey in 2019, and had to miss three months of the county season, and did so again in 2020 during a Test match against Pakistan.
On that occasion, he had to undergo surgery, and it remains to be seen what measures England will take this time,
England have elected not to call up a replacement into their squad, so it seems likely that Dan Lawrence could make his first Test appearance under the new Bazball regime, and have an opportunity to add to his 11 caps.
Lawrence typically bats at number four for Essex and has averaged 44.6 in the County Championship this season, and was the only reserve batter in the squad.
Ollie Pope said on Twitter: “Gutted, these things happen and backing the boys all the way”.
