England have suffered a major injury scare after Ollie Robinson limped out of the opening day of the third Ashes Test at Headingley with a back spasm.
The 29-year-old, who has taken 10 wickets so far in the series, left the field two balls into his 12th over of the day to leave the hosts a bowler light, with Stuart Broad left to complete the over as Robinson sought treatment.
An England statement later confirmed: “England seamer Ollie Robinson has sustained a back spasm. He will remain off the field for the rest of today’s play.”
Given Robinson’s history, the worry for England will be that Robinson may be out for the rest of this match and possibly even the series.
The seamer was ruled out of England’s entire tour of the West Indies in early 2022 when he sustained a back spasm during the team’s warm-up game in the Caribbean. He suffered yet another back spasm a few months at the start of the English summer and admitted later that year he thought his career might be over.
Robinson is now much fitter than he was then, with a gym regime helping him make a triumphant return to Test cricket in the final two Tests of last summer against South Africa.
Speaking in November 2022, Robinson admitted of that back spasm in the Caribbean: “I was bowling my 10th over in the warm-up game, and had a back spasm.
“My back foot landed, and my back just crippled. It was a very strange feeling. I hobbled off, sat down, and was sat there for 10 minutes, I couldn’t move. That started the decline really. I couldn’t get my body right for months.
“I remember when I got my second back spasm [in early summer], I thought there must be something wrong. The scans were coming back clear which was weird. We kept getting different types of scans. There was nothing more than a bit of wear and tear.
“I had injections to numb the pain and get back to properly training back to full fitness. There were times in the summer where I thought I couldn’t play again. I was talking to my old man about what I could do if I didn’t play cricket. It was getting to that stage.”
