After making his Test debut for England in March against the West Indies, Saqib Mahmood was riding high and looking forward to a busy summer.
The 25-year-old had impressed in the Caribbean, picking up six wickets at 22.83 on largely flat pitches, and looked set to be involved in England's new era under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. Stokes had been particularly impressed by Mahmood's performances against the West Indies and had spoken to him about the role he wanted him to play in the Test team moving forward.
However, his hopes were soon dashed after he suffered a stress fracture of the back in his first County Championship game of the season against Gloucestershire. The injury ruled him out for the entire summer, but could have been so much worse after he was misdiagnosed.
Having experienced pain in his back and shoulder during the Gloucestershire game, Mahmood went for a scan and was told by specialists there was nothing wrong. "The specialists said it was the best back they had seen in a 25-year-old," he told the Telegraph.
As a result, Mahmood continued bowling and was set to keep playing for Lancashire, keen to ensure he was fully fit for England's opening Test against New Zealand. He was due to have an injection to help him continue playing, but luckily Lancashire opted to take another look at his scan first.
"A different radiologist from Lancashire spotted it," he explained. "He saw the fracture straight away. I was distraught.
"After that there was a lot of anger. People were making decisions about my back and as a bowler it is one of the biggest parts of your body for what you do.
"If I'd had the injection and bowled through it, it could have resulted in the end of my career. There was a lot of anger and sometimes people tell you it is human error but it just does not cut it for you because there is so much riding on it."
It is now six months since Mahmood last played competitive cricket and he is almost ready to return, stating he could feature in the upcoming Test series against Pakistan. He added: "I have one eye on it.
"But I have to be selected and coming off the back of not playing since May means other guys are ahead of me. I would like to think I will be 100 per cent match fit before that series but it is whether the medical staff think I’m ready for the workload of Test cricket."
