England Lions suffered a double injury blow before the first match of their 50-over series against Pakistan A in Dubai today.
Jamie Overton has been ruled out for the series and will return to Somerset after the foot injury he suffered in the second warm-up match against UAE on Saturday was diagnosed as soft tissue damage.
Liam Plunkett was also ruled out of the opening match with a strained muscle in his left thigh.
England have therefore revised their plans for Plunkett to fly to South Africa at the weekend, after playing two matches for the Lions, to join their preparations for the one-day and T20 series against the Proteas.
Plunkett will have a further test tomorrow to check on his fitness for the second match of the Lions series on Friday.
“It is a real shame that Jamie will not take part in this series,” said the Lions coach Andy Flower.
“He was one of the better performers in our T20 series win pre-Christmas, and he was starting to really hit his straps on this section of the tour.
“He has worked really hard on enhancing his skills to go with his natural advantages of size and pace, showing the ability to take the ball away from the right hander, bowling a better length, and getting the ball in the blockhole.
“He was going to be a big part of our bowling attack, but he’s got some great work done through the winter.
“He can get back to his rehab and pre-season work with Somerset, and they can look forward to a really potent and genuinely fast bowler working with them this summer.”
Source: ECB