Jason Roy to have further scan on torn hamstring

Jason Roy is to undergo a second scan on his torn hamstring on Monday morning.

Roy sustained the injury while fielding in the match against West Indies in Southampton on June 14. While the England camp were coy about the severity of the tear, they did express the hope that he would be fit to return to action before the end of the group stages. They have subsequently admitted, however, that the match against India – on June 30 – was probably the earliest possible date for his return.

Roy did not attend training with the rest of the squad on Sunday and is unlikely to be considered available for selection for Tuesday’s match against Australia at Lord’s. Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, has previously confirmed no chances will be taken with Roy’s fitness and he will not be recalled until he has had a chance to prove his fitness. Roy also missed the start of the season after sustaining a hamstring injury during the ODI series in the Caribbean.

Roy’s absence has been keenly felt by the England side. He has passed 50 five times in his six most recent ODI innings, 100 three times in his eight most recent, and has recorded the second-highest score (153 against Bangladesh) of the World Cup to date. His replacement, James Vince, has a top score of 51 in 10 ODIs and has scored 26 and 14 in his two innings in this tournament.

While the second scan is largely routine – the England medical team are keen to gain a clearer picture of how Roy is healing and how much longer he may be unavailable – there is a possibility the results will end Roy’s involvement in the World Cup. Although the England management are keenly aware of Roy’s value, they will know they cannot carry a player who has little possibility of recovering in time to play a meaningful part.

England will need to win at least one, and possibly two, of their remaining group games if they are to qualify for the semi-finals. Their final group match is against New Zealand, in Durham, on July 3. The semi-finals take place on July 9 and 11.

Roy has not trained since the incident. While he has generally appeared at training – he has sometimes refereed the inter-squad football matches and did have half-a-dozen throw-downs the day before the game in Leeds – the England management have been keen to prevent him running or doing anything else to exacerbate the injury. If Roy is ruled out of the rest of the tournament, Joe Denly and Dawid Malan would appear to be the most likely replacements.