Rory Burns to miss the remainder of the series vs South Africa due to ankle injury

The England Cricket Team, which is already troubled by injuries to some of its players, has another worry in their basket as their opening batsman Rory Burns has also been ruled out of the remainder of the series against South Africa due to an ankle injury.

Burns was the top scorer for England in the first Test but suffered an injury to his ankle while playing a game of football as a warm-up before the second Test. As per reports in the media, scans have revealed that he sustained ligament damage to his left ankle.

“England opening batsman Rory Burns has sustained ligament damage to his left ankle,” England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in an official statement.
“He has been ruled out of the remainder of the South Africa Test series and will return home for further assessment and treatment at the earliest convenience,” it added.

The injury of the left-handed opener — who scored 84 runs in the Centurion Test which England lost by 107 runs — comes after premier bowler Jofra Archer pulled out of bowling practice on Thursday.
Meanwhile, fast bowler Mark Wood is yet to regain full fitness from his bout of sickness while opener Dom Sibley is expected to be fit soon after missing the first Test.

Sky Sports Cricket’s Nasser Hussain thinks England’s football warm-ups should be stopped, as in 2018, Jonny Bairstow also injured himself in a football warm-up and missed the Sri Lanka series.

“This will open a whole new can of worms because [England’s managing director of cricket] Ashley Giles announced when he first came in that the one thing he wants to stop is football before a game because he sees the number of injuries through it.

“They are told to play football but to not tackle and have no physical contact. But you know what it’s like when 15 players get together – they can’t hold themselves back.

“You have to balance it. People at home will be thinking ‘we’re not paying them to go out and play football’ but it is their one release. They love it.
“It gets them warm and loose but if you keep having injuries, Giles may well ban it again.”