Cork's injury puts tour place under threat

Dominic Cork could fly back to England this week after failing to make any progress in recovering from a lower back strain.

The Derbyshire all-rounder is one of four players still on Dean Conway's 'crock' list after his back injury continued to cause pain and stiffness despite intensive treatment.

Since the next two Test matches are back-to-back, difficulty in reaching the required fitness levels in time for the second Test starting on November 29th, would mean Cork's chances of being considered for the final game in Karachi are extremely slim.

The next few days will be crucial in determining his prospects, confirmed England physio Conway.

"He's not really racing on and at the moment he's quite a serious doubt. He needs to prove his fitness with this three-day game and at the moment he would probably struggle to bowl in the nets.

"We're going to need a quite dramatic turnaround if he's going to play and if he doesn't do that, he's going to struggle to be in contention for the last two Tests without proving his fitness.

"We've had investigations done here, but with all due respect we'd like to get him back and get him checked out by specialists at home so we can get opinions for Sri Lanka."

Cork's injury has caused particular concern because he has never suffered with back trouble before. He received a cortisone injection four days ago but has to prove his fitness for the PCB XI match in Lahore this week before he can qualify for Test selection.

On a happier note, England captain Nasser Hussain cancelled an X-ray appointment this morning after his right wrist, which was badly bruised by a ball from Wasim Akram in the first Test, made a significant overnight improvement.

His back is also better, Conway said today.

"He had some scans done on his back last week which showed a little bit of wear and tear in certain areas and the specialists we spoke to at this end suggested we had an option of an injection into there.

"He's been having a lot of treatment on it, but not a lot of rest and we're hopeful that will be sufficient before the second Test rather than going for an injection, but if he's struggling in two or three days time then we may look at that as an option then.

"Treatment is always more effective with rest rather than patching them up and sending them out playing again and he's got a chance now to get a bit of rest and treatment and let things settle a bit."

"Michael Vaughan is improving nicely, but I'm being very conservative with him because it's a high risk as far as a recurrence is concerned," added Conway.

"We're going to give him as much time prior to that as we can, we're not going to try and test him too much prior to the game and we'll use that as the test."

After a relaxing day by the pool and on the golf course, England's players have two days of practice before the three day game against the PCB XI starts at Bagh-e-Jihnnah on Thursday.

Hussain and Craig White, who struggled in the first Test with a hamstring injury, are likely to be rested for the match and the continuation of White's Test form, which saw him make 93 and take 4-54 in Lahore, will make finding a replacement for Cork unnecessary.