Hussain prepared for challenge despite England injury worries

England face a fortnight of solid pressure and wavering fortunes as they go into the first of three Test matches with injuries continuing to dictate selection policy.

On top of the setback over the loss of Michael Vaughan and Dominic Cork, both with muscle strains, England had another scare in the nets today when Andrew Flintoff, recalled as cover for the injured players, was hit in the face and whipped off to hospital, his face covered in blood, for an X-ray on a suspected broken nose.

The prognosis, that it was just bruised, was probably the most cheerful news captain Nasser Hussain had received all week after physio Dean Conway delivered his daily verdicts on new and recurring injuries to a succession of players.

Flintoff's accident, which happened at the end of a net session when he mistimed a hook and sent the ball careering through the grille of his helmet, occurred just hours after the Lancashire all-rounder got off a plane from England after a long flight.

To make matters worse, he then spent a disturbed night sleeping on the floor of one of his teammates when it was discovered his hotel room had not been prepared for him.

"I was facing a net bowler at the end of practice who wasn't that quick but I went to hook a short ball and it looped up off the bat and hit me between the grill and helmet," explained Flintoff.

"There was a lot of blood and it's pretty badly bruised but I should be okay if I'm required, although we'll have to see how it is in the morning. I'm really pleased to be back and I feel very refreshed after two weeks at home."

Despite the net drama, Flintoff was still named in the 12-man squad to play against Pakistan tomorrow along with Craig White who has recovered from a hamstring injury and Hussain himself, who earlier this week was struggling with a bad back.

"It's sod's law that the person we fly out as cover misses one of the last two balls of his net and gets hit in the nose," said Hussain.

"That's the way things are going at the moment, but it's not a problem because he's a big strong lad."

On White, Hussain said: "He's the same as he's been throughout the tour. He's fit to play but he's feeling his hamstring a little and he's been like that for a while and bowled pretty well."

This first Test would pose one of the stiffest challenges for the squad since Hussain and coach Duncan Fletcher took over, the skipper added.

"This will be the biggest test for us for a long time because of how alien it is to what we play on.

"We've set ourselves up nicely, we've prepared well and we have to look at it as a big challenge.

"It's completely different to everything we've had before so as a team and a group it will be interesting to see how people cope with it.

"This Pakistan side have got everything - spin, pace, reverse swing - they're an excellent team and we have to learn from them.

"The next 15 days of Test cricket are going to be a test for everyone. There will be men around the bat, pressure on batsmen when they first go in and pressure when one of their batsmen gets in on a good wicket and plays through the line.

"It's going to be about bottle when we're under a bit of pressure and we don't know where the next run is coming from or when one of our bowlers runs in, delivers a good ball and watches it disappear over his head for a boundary - we have to be able to cope with that."