JOIN USThe 38-year-old Tendulkar, who had sustained a stress fracture of the same toe in the past, is suffering from an inflamed bone in the webbing between the big and the second toes.
The right-hander showed few signs of discomfort during Friday’s practice and even requested the ground staff to set the sight screen right as he returned from practice. It’s now said that the Mumbikar felt a bit sore post his net session and was eventually forced to sit out the match after consulting physio Ashish Kaushik.
The little master has been taking care of the troubled toe, apparently a recurring problem, with a specially designed soles in South Africa, helping him prevent the bone in the webbing from inflaming. Tendulkar will be consulting a specialist in Southampton ahead of the second one-dayer at the Rose Bowl and as of now, his availability for the remainder of the series remains highly doubtful.
Rohit’s English sojourn too is all but over after the scans revealed that the right-hander has suffered a crack in his finger. He was immediately attended to on the ground and grimaced in pain when the physio tried to feel his injured finger, following which the right-hander left the field. Yuvraj Singh too was injured in similar fashion during the Trent Bridge Test.
With Tendulkar forced to opt out, India had to go into their opening match without six of their World Cup-winning squad in Mumbai this early April. Zaheer Khan (hamstring), Harbhajan Singh (torn muscle in the lower abdomen), Yuvraj (fractured finger), Virender Sehwag (left ear problem and shoulder injury) and Gautam Gambhir (concussion resulting in blurred vision) were ruled out at various stages of the tour. India’s total injury count on the tour now has risen to eight, including Ishant Sharma who flew back home due to ankle injury after the Test series.