Morgan, Roy to undergo scans as England face injury woes

England would be desperately hoping that captain Eoin Morgan and in-form opener Jason Roy, who got injured during its match against West Indies, get fully fit before their next World Cup encounter against Afghanistan on Tuesday.

Both batsmen went down in the first innings of Friday's match, which England won by eight wickets against the Windies in Southampton.

Neither Morgan nor Roy were risked during England's run chase, as stand-in opener Joe Root hit his second century of the World Cup and carried his bat to take England to their target of 213. All-rounder Chris Woakes was promoted up to number three and he grabbed the opportunity and played a handy knock of 40 off 54 balls.

Morgan suffered a back spasm while fielding and Roy picked up a hamstring injury, thus leaving the field at the Ageas Bowl.

Roy pulled up his hamstring after chasing the ball over the covers during the eighth over of the match. The 28-year-old walked off and, soon, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed he needed further assessment after "feeling tightness".

Meanwhile, 32-year-old Morgan suffered from a back spasm during the 40th over and had to be helped from the field. Such was his discomfort that he stopped on his way to the changing room after finding the stairs up to the dressing room particularly difficult to conquer.

Giving an update about both the injuries, Morgan said: "We will see how we pull up in the next 48 hours."

The England skipper, who had to give a standing post-match press conference because sitting down was too painful, said both of them would undergo scans on Saturday.

"Hopefully, we don't present serious injuries," Morgan said. "When any two players go down, it's a worry but we are not at panic stations yet."

Should either of the two batsmen need to be left out at the Old Trafford, England could call upon batsman James Vince, or recall all-rounder Moeen Ali.

England are currently placed at the second spot with six points from four games.

--IANS

aak/rtp