Afridi advised two-days' rest after muscle rupture

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis has said that Shahid Afridi has been advised 48 hours of rest as a precautionary measure for a minor muscle rupture to his side, an injury he picked during the second day of the warm-up match against Kent. Afridi had dashed to London to carry out the scan early Wednesday morning along with the team physio but the scans cleared the Pakistan captain of any potential danger to the rest of the tour.

"The scan showed a small muscle rupture in his side. He has been asked to rest for two days and have some treatment, then we will reassess things, but we're hopeful he will be fine," Waqar said.

Afridi left the field clutching his back at lunch on the second day of the tour game against Kent. He termed it a side strain initially and said there was nothing to worry about. Earlier in the morning he had appeared comfortable during fielding drills and played touch football with his team-mates. However, Afridi did not return after lunch and only took the field towards the end of the Kent innings for a couple of overs. He hasn't had much of an impact on the tour game, batting only six balls for a duck in the first innings.

The injury ruled Afridi out of the next two practice games, against Essex and Northamptonshire on July 2 and 3. In the absence of any senior and experienced batsmen, Shoaib Malik apart, Pakistan need Afridi in healthy form in order to pose a challenge in the upcoming Test series against Australia and England.

Afridi, who has scored 1683 runs in 26 Tests, played his last Test during Pakistan's tour of England in 2006 but failed to impress in two Tests at Manchester and Lord's. He had announced a surprise temporary retirement from Tests in early 2006, saying he wanted to concentrate on the game's shorter formats, but changed his mind less than a fortnight later after the then PCB chairman, Shaharyar Khan, and coach Bob Woolmer persuaded him to reverse his decision.

Afridi was recently appointed Pakistan's captain in all three formats following Pakistan's winless tour to Australia in 2009-10.