Asif's shoulder injury not serious

Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan fast bowler, has been advised not to bowl for a week due to a shoulder-related injury. Asif picked up the injury during the Mohammad Nissar Trophy match while playing for Sialkot against Uttar Pradesh in Dharamsala last week. The injury limited Asif to just 10 overs in the two innings.

Asif told Cricinfo that the problem was in his left shoulder, but wasn't of a serious nature. "I have a muscle strain in my left shoulder but it isn't that serious. I have been advised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) doctors not to bowl for a week."

Asif will, however, attend the Pakistan camp over the next three days at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and train with the rest of the squad for the Champions Trophy. Pakistan travel to India on October 7 and after a couple of practice games, play their first match against a qualifier ten days later in Jaipur.

The Karachi-based daily Dawn reported that Dr Sohail Saleem, the PCB doctor, had seen Asif and was of the opinion that the injury was not serious. The paper said that a 15-hour drive from New Delhi to Dharamsala was apparently the source of Asif's discomfort.

With Shoaib Akhtar still prone to injury and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan in indifferent form, Pakistan are expected to rely heavily on Asif as their spearhead and will hope the injury is not a serious one. He was missed badly for much of the tour to England, especially given the sparkling form he has been in since the turn of the year, leading Pakistan to Test wins against India and Sri Lanka. He was widely responsible also for the position of strength Pakistan were in during the fourth Test at the Oval before they forfeited the match.