Foot injury rules Steven Finn out of England's first Test against Pakistan; Yasir Shah a doubt for Pakistan

Steven Finn bowled very well in the warm-up game against Pakistan A

England fast bowler Steven Finn is set to miss the first Test of the Pakistan-England series due to a stress injury in his foot. England begin their tour of the UAE tomorrow at Abu Dhabi.

According to a report on The Telegraph, the English officials explained that Finn's injury was a stress injury below his big toe on his left foot. To aid his recovery from the injury, he will be wearing a surgical boot this week. Finn will be hoping to be fit in time for the second Test on October 22.

Finn bowled brilliantly in the warm-up game against Pakistan A picking up four wickets for 16 runs. He gave his best in a spell of seven overs, which might have come at a cost of causing damage to his foot.

The first signs of discomfort came when Finn was bowling in the nets on Sunday. A scan that followed revealed a possibility of a fracture if the leg was stressed much more. A fracture would naturally cause Finn to be on the sidelines for a long period of time.

England captain Alastair Cook confirmed the absence of the 6ft 7ins seamer in his pre-match press conference. “It is is a bitter blow for him. He bowled really well in that warm-up game.”

“Over last 12 months he has made huge strides back to where we want him to be. So that is a big blow with his foot. We’ll monitor him over the next bit of time – hopefully right for the second Test, but we’ll have to wait and see,” Cook said.

However, Finn was unlikely to feature in the first Test with Mark Wood being the favourite for the third seamer spot. Mark Footitt and Chris Jordan are the ones who will potentially replace Finn if the bowler has to go back to England.

Yasir Shah has been in brilliant form of late for Pakistan

Pakistan have been dealt with another injury blow – after Azhar Ali was ruled out – with star spinner Yasir Shah injuring his back while fielding off his own bowling in the nets. This is a big blow to Pakistan as Shah has been very instrumental since he came into the Test squad.

In the ten Tests that Shah has played, he has picked up 61 wickets at an impressive average of 24.81. Zafar Gohar has been called up as a replacement for Shah. Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq expressed his disappointment at the possibility of losing his main spin bowler for the first Test.

“It would be a big blow for us and we are hoping he will be fit,” said Misbah.

Moeen Ali is set to partner Cook as his opening partner. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid is also poised to make his Test debut, and will be crucial to England's success in the Middle East.