Giles may miss one-dayers

Ashley Giles may be forced to miss England's one-day campaign in Pakistan to undergo treatment on a long-standing hip injury.

The same problem caused Giles to miss the Test series against Bangladesh last summer but according to his coach, Duncan Fletcher, he was not considered a doubt for either of the remaining two Tests of the series.

"It's a slight problem," said Fletcher. "We're going to monitor him for the next two Tests, and there is a chance we'll want to send him back early. He felt it in the summer and it is the same thing that has progressed.

"He is not a doubt for this match, but we will look at the one-dayers, and ahead to the Tests in India, and take action depending on how bad it is."

England took similar action last winter, when it was decided that the spur in Andrew Flintoff's ankle needed to be removed immediately after the final Test in Centurion. He missed the seven-match one-day series that followed, and as a result was fully fit for the Ashes series that began in July.

With a tough tour of India beginning in March, England will want to give their No. 1 spinner plenty time to recuperate if the injury proves to be more serious than it is currently believed to be.