Foot injury rules Bell out of Pakistan Test series
ENGLAND batsman Ian Bell has been ruled out of the forthcoming Test series with Pakistan after undergoing foot surgery.
Bell fractured a metatarsal in Saturday’s one-day defeat to Bangladesh in Bristol and had a routine operation on Monday evening.
The foot is encased in a protective boot and Bell is expected to make a full recovery, but not in time to face Pakistan in a Test series that begins on 29 July.
Bell is also a doubt for the one-day series against the same opposition in September.
“Ian underwent a routine operation last night [Monday] on the fractured metatarsal in his left foot,” England’s chief medical officer Nick Peirce said yesterday. “He will now undergo a course of rehabilitation that will see him ruled out of the upcoming Pakistan Test series.”
Bell had only just been recalled to the one-day side and his absence is likely to mean another chance for Eoin Morgan to establish himself ahead of the Ashes, although in-form Ravi Bopara is another option.