Reece Topley to miss three months with back injury

 

Reece Topley is out for three months with a back injury 

England left-armer Reece Topley has been ruled out for three months with a partial stress fracture in his back.

Topley has "a partial stress fracture of the lumbar spine" which likely to keep him sidelined for most of the season, both for England and his county side Hampshire.

The 22-year-old, who was in England's World Twenty20 squad and in contention to feature in all this summer's white ball cricket, has been out since April 16 with a fractured thumb but now has much bigger problems to contend with. "Reece Topley has been diagnosed with a partial stress fracture of the lumbar spine and will require a significant period of rehabilitation. 

"He will miss the next three months and will aim for a return for Hampshire before the end of the season."

There was better news for David Willey, who has a small abdominal tear and is aiming to make his return to action in Yorkshire's NatWest T20 Blast match at Worcestershire on June 2.

Mark Wood, who missed the winter tour of South Africa as well as the World T20 with a recurring ankle problem, is also working towards a comeback.

The Durham paceman is said by the ECB to be "progressing well" and will return to a bowling programme this week.