James Anderson bowled well in India but hasn't played © Getty Images

England have not had much good news on the injury front of late, but a glimmer of light has emerged with James Anderson making a significant stride in his recovery from a stress fracture of the back.

Anderson has been wearing a back brace for the last six weeks to aid his rehabilitation and has now progress significantly enough for it to be removed. Dave Roberts, the physiotherapist coordinating Anderson's recovery, told the Lancashire website: "He has had another scan and it showed that the injury has healed enough for him to take off the brace and to start the next stage.

"He is into his first week of rehab, and while he needs to take things slowly, there is hope that he will be able to start bowling again in three or four weeks."

Anderson has been out of action all summer after he returned from England's tour of India where he began to feel discomfort during the one-day series. It was a bitter blow for Anderson who had shown a return to something near his best form when he played a key role in England's victory at Mumbai to level the Test series. He is still unlikely to play any international cricket this summer but his Ashes prospects are now looking brighter.

His Lancashire team-mates Andrew Flintoff and Glen Chapple are also on the injury list and missing the current one-day series against Sri Lanka. Chapple was selected in the original squad but picked up an abdominal strain against Ireland and returned to Old Trafford for treatment.