In a significant blow to their James Anderson succession plans, England is set to start their upcoming home summer without pacer Josh Tongue.
There is “no timescale” for his return.
Tongue, 26, has experienced a setback with his pectoral injury, which has sidelined him since August.
This injury has caused him to miss tours of the Caribbean and India, as well as some domestic matches.
“Josh has had a setback to his original injury.
There is no timescale on when he’ll return to action,” the England & Wales Cricket Board said in a statement.
Anderson, the veteran seamer, will retire after the first Test against the West Indies, which will be played at Lord’s from July 10.
Tongue was expected to be one of the frontrunners for the vacancy, with England ideally hoping for him to get enough overs under his belt before the Ashes Down Under.
Tongue made his Test debut against Ireland in June last year and represented England in the subsequent Ashes series.
He left captain Ben Stokes impressed with his versatility, particularly his ability to bowl full with the new ball and then play the “aggressor” when the ball was soft and old.
With Stuart Broad also retired, England will need to find a new bowling combination.
Fortunately, they have Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson, both with a healthy number of Test caps, along with Matthew Potts and Gus Atkinson.
England is set to host Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Australia this season.
They will play six Tests across the summer, three against the West Indies and three against Sri Lanka.
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