England Cricket team have been dealt another injury setback in their preparations for the T20 World Cup as Reece Topley has been ruled out with an ankle injury. The setback comes on the back of the painful absentees of Jofra Archer and Jonny Bairstow who are already on the treatment table. England are yet to name a replacement for Topley as the World Cup is just a handful of days away.
Topley rolled his left ankle on a piece of advertisement foam on the boundary during some catching drills at Brisbane on Monday afternoon and did not feature in the final warm-up against Pakistan.
England Cricket Team
England announced Topley "will be assessed throughout this week" and are hopeful of a swift recovery, but they do have Tymal Mills and Richard Gleeson on standby if the issue proves to be more serious.
It is an unwanted headache for England as they travel to Perth to take on Afghanistan on Saturday, with Topley becoming an increasingly dependable figure in the white-ball ranks since the turn of the year.
The 6ft 7in left-arm seamer, who has overcome multiple stress fractures in his back during his career, has taken 17 wickets in 16 T20s in 2022 and can bowl anywhere in an innings - with an economy rate of 7.8 impressive given he operates mainly in the powerplay at the death.
Sam Curran and David Willey are England's other left-armers in England's 15-strong squad.
Curran is expected to be in England's XI against Afghanistan, irrespective of whether Topley features, and believes they are tracking well after an improvement in results recently following a disappointing summer.
England recorded a 4-3 win in Pakistan and then thrashed the same opponents by six wickets in a low-key practice match on Monday, having also beaten World Cup hosts and defending champions Australia 2-0.
