England selectors faced with injury worries

England look likely to name a larger squad than usual tomorrow for the First Test against Australia at Edgbaston starting on Thursday after being hit by a spate of injuries.

Graham Thorpe's calf problems have put him in doubt, while Michael Vaughan and Ashley Giles are given a "60-40" chance of playing. Vaughan has a cyst on his left knee, while Giles' troublesome Achilles tendon is stiff and sore after bowling 70 overs for Warwickshire against Middlesex.

In addition to this, skipper Nasser Hussain is making a comeback after breaking his thumb in the First Test against Pakistan and Craig White has been out of international action so far this summer because of back problems.

England have not given up hope on Thorpe and will probably name him in the squad together with additional cover for him. The same will go for White and Giles.

But Thorpe has admitted that his calf problem, sustained while warming up for the first NatWest Series match against Pakistan, is not a strain.

"We've been treating it as a calf strain, but a calf strain would have cleared up by now," he said.

"I will be seeing a specialist on calf injuries at the weekend and he will be looking for any other cause of the injury," he said on his Channel 4 website.

"Over the weekend we hope to get an accurate diagnosis, and rule out anything more serious.

"We have to try and get to the bottom of it, and diagnose the injury properly before we treat it.

"They may say that the injury is okay, but at the moment that seems a bit of a long shot. To be honest, it's looking even more doubtful.

"Since I suffered the injury it has not changed or improved one bit. I can't sprint 22 yards and turn, and if I can't do that then I'm not fit to play."

If he fails to make the final XI it will be a grave blow for England who have come to rely on him as their most consistent batsman in recent times.

Australian captain Steve Waugh said: "We have always rated Thorpe as a very good player and I think he's gone that extra step from being a very good player to a great player for England. He will probably be the danger batsman."

So the sight of him hobbling round the pavilion will be a pleasing one for the tourists but gives the England selectors a headache.

It is possible they may turn to Mark Ramprakash who has been scoring runs with consistency for Surrey since he crossed the Thames from Middlesex during the winter.

Another option would be Middlesex's Owais Shah who was blooded in the NatWest Series and showed he had some mettle to go with his ability.

Glamorgan's Robert Croft could be brought in as cover for Giles but it depends on whether England want to play seven specialist batsmen as they did against Pakistan when Ian Ward batted at No 7 to bolster the lower order.

Possible England squad: Hussain (captain), Atherton, Trescothick, Vaughan, Thorpe, Ramprakash, Stewart (wkt), Ward, White, Cork, Giles, Croft, Caddick, Gough, Hoggard.