Australia suffered a potentially major injury blow when Nathan Lyon limped off the field with a right calf injury during the final session of the second day at Lord’s.
Chasing a ball towards the boundary in the 37th over, Lyon pulled up and was immediately in pain. He hobbled to the edge of the field where the physio began to assess him then had to be helped around the rope to the pavilion.
A CA spokesperson said Lyon would be further assessed overnight.
It is a cruel twist for Lyon who is playing his 100th consecutive Test – the first specialist bowler to reach the milestone – and was lauded before the match for his durability in having played unbroken since midway through the 2013 Ashes.
Lyon had already shaped as a significant figure in this match – as he was at Edgbaston – having removed Zak Crawley to break an opening stand of 91.
Should he not be able to play any further role in this game it would leave Australia a specialist bowler down and needing to turn to Travis Head, Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne for any spin.
Looking further head into the series it would bring Todd Murphy, the 22-year-old offspinner, into the frame for when the series reaches Headingley. Murphy took seven wickets on his debut against India in Nagpur earlier this year.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo