LEEDS, Aug 2: Pakistan opener Imran Farhat is set to miss the third Test after sustaining a finger injury during England's innings and 120-run win in the second Test at Old Trafford last week.

Imran broke his right ring finger while taking a catch to dismiss Kevin Pietersen and Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer played down his chances of appearing in the third Test.

“Imran Farhat is struggling to field and he is unlikely to come into contention for selection,” Woolmer said on Wednesday.

At Old Trafford, wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal was promoted to open but managed just four in each innings.

Pakistan could now recall Salman Butt, dropped at Old Trafford while fellow opener Taufiq Umar, a late addition to the squad, is also in contention.

And the former England all-rounder admitted he was also looking at changing the composition of Pakistan's attack.

In Manchester the tourists went in with two leg-spinners in Shahid Afridi and Danish Kaneria.

But for a match at Headingley, where in the last 10 years only one frontline England spinner has taken a Test wicket (left-armer Ashley Giles dismissing India's Rahul Dravid in 2002), Woolmer said Pakistan were contemplating playing four quicks and just one spinner.

“It looks a much better surface than I've ever seen at Leeds,” added Woolmer.

“It's quite dry now. I suspect there won't be the sort of bounce we saw at Old Trafford but we'll have to deal with any surface we get and we'll have to learn to adapt quicker than we did.”

But asked if that meant Pakistan were likely to drop Kaneria, who returned disappointing figures of one for 106 at Old Trafford, Woolmer said: “I wouldn't say that was a possibility, no.”

“I suppose in modern cricket you are looking for seven batsmen and four top-line bowlers. Whether we can do that at the moment, it's not easy. But we might have to do that and tell the players to take responsibility and get on with it.”

Pakistan, as they were in both the drawn first Test at Lord's and in Manchester, will be without their three leading quicks Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan at Headingley because of injury.

Shoaib, who has been sidelined by an ankle problem, is due to take part in a club match this weekend and Woolmer said: “He should be playing in the Birmingham League for Berkswell. He's just got to bowl eight overs at pretty much full speed, so good luck to the blokes playing against him.”

Meanwhile Woolmer said recent history showed Pakistan could come back from 1-0 down in a Test series.

“We've had many situations like this — India at Bangalore and in Jamaica against the West Indies.”—AFP