July 20, 2007	Friday	Rajab 04, 1428

LONDON, July 19: England fast bowler Matthew Hoggard will have his back injury reassessed on Monday, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced after the 30-year-old Yorkshireman had been left out of the side for the first Test against India here at Lord’s.

Hoggard underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan on Wednesday which revealed irritation in a disc in his back.

“His rehabilitation will be closely monitored over the next five days and he will be reassessed on Monday by the ECB medical staff,” said an ECB statement.

The second Test starts at Trent Bridge a week on Friday, giving Hoggard little time for recovery if he is to play in Nottingham.

Even if he were fit, Hoggard would go into the second Test with little cricket behind him having bowled just 16 overs since England’s 3-0 series-clinching win against the West Indies in the fourth Test at the Riverside concluded on June 19.—AFP