England are set to be without their two first-choice opening bowlers for the first Test match of the summer after the extent of Ollie Robinson’s injury emerged.
Robinson was stood down in the afternoon of Sussex’s match against Glamorgan in the County Championship on Saturday due to an ankle problem. The 29-year-old bowled eight overs in the morning session at Hove before sitting out of the rest of the day.
Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace played down the significance of the injury, but England fans will be concerned after Robinson was spotted on crutches and wearing a protective boot on Sunday. He will undergo a scan on Monday that should reveal the seriousness of the problem.
Brendon McCullum’s side kick off their summer with a one-off Test against Ireland on June 1 before the Ashes get underway on June 16.
Robinson is not the only England bowler struggling for fitness, with James Anderson also currently nursing a groin strain. Meanwhile, Jofra Archer has been ruled out for a second successive summer with an elbow problem and Olly Stone has a hamstring problem.
Anderson is likely to be rested for England’s Test against Ireland at Lord’s and Robinson is now considered a big doubt for the game. The two have frequently taken the new ball for England and their absence would leave Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood as the only fit fast bowlers in the squad.
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"He's got a sore ankle and he'll be scanned on Monday to see how bad he is," Farbrace said on Saturday. "We knew it was sore yesterday, that's why we got one spell out of him this morning.
"We knew that he was sore, and it's walking more than anything. It's not actually the running part that makes it sore, it's walking. It's a joint decision between our medical team and the England medical team.
“We've got a good relationship with the England players that Sussex have had here, and the medical department here are very closely linked. It's the right thing to do. We need to find out from everyone's point of view, but obviously from Ollie's point of view, he wants to know what's going on with the ankle and why it's so sore.
"I've not known of it before, but I'm sure the England medical team will know if they've treated a sore ankle with him before. If you're a fast bowler you're going to have niggles and injuries, and obviously from our point of view it's just about being cautious."
England squad for Ireland Test: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
