Anderson may be rested for Bangladesh tour

James Anderson may be rested from England's tour of Bangladesh next month, after sustaining a slight injury to his left knee.

Anderson has been an integral part of England's Test and one-day teams since receiving a surprise call-up during the one-day VB Series in Australia last winter, but the selectors may now give him a chance to recuperate before the more arduous winter challenges against Sri Lanka in November and West Indies next March.

"The injury is not serious," said England's team spokesman, Andrew Walpole. "It's just wear and tear at the end of a long season and the selectors will decide whether it needs more rest."

Anderson was just 20 years old when he exploded onto the international scene, after just a handful of first-class matches and a brief stint at the ECB Academy. He played a major role in England's World Cup campaign, before collecting five wickets on his Test debut against Zimbabwe at Lord's, and a one-day hat-trick against Pakistan at The Oval. But he had tired visibly by the end of the summer, in which he played in all seven Tests, but just four first-class matches for Lancashire.

"James has had a fantastic ten months," said Neil Fairbrother, the former England one-day batsman who is now Anderson's manager. "Not just physically, but also mentally, it has taken its toll. He has come from nowhere to the England team and he has no experience to call upon to cope with it. He has just gone at it flat out and enjoyed himself. Now there is a niggle in his knee and it's a matter of whether he is allowed to get it right before he starts all over again."

Anderson's fitness was assessed last week in a routine pre-tour medical, and the reports will be studied by England's selectors before the weekend. Should he be withdrawn for the Bangladesh leg of the winter, Sussex's James Kirtley is the favourite to take his place.