James Anderson hopes England can take advantage of Azhar Ali's absence

James Anderson admits it is a boost for the England bowling attack that Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali will miss the opening Test match between the sides.

Ali has been ruled out of the opening match in Abu Dhabi due to a foot infection. He sustained a toe injury during the series with Zimbabwe earlier this month and has yet to return to training. 

The 30-year-old made more than 250 runs, at above 50 an innings, when England were beaten 3-0 by Pakistan on their last trip here in 2012. 

On hearing of his initial absence in this return series, Anderson said: "He obviously played very well last time.

"In that number three spot, he was the guy to get out for them - even with the experienced players who came in after him."

Ali's misfortune appears to fall into the category of curious sporting injuries.

He reportedly first hurt his foot during the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca undertaken at least once by all adult Muslim men and the scene of huge crowds gathering to fulfil the religious duty.

An infection then set in, and forced the one-day international captain out of last week's decider as Pakistan beat Zimbabwe 2-1 in Harare.

Before Sunday's confirmation that he will also miss the first Test against England, team manager Intikhab Alam said: "Azhar has not been able to train, because he can't wear a shoe on his left foot.

"He suffered a foot infection, and the skin on his toe came off."

Anderson needs no reminding of Azhar's importance to Pakistan.

He added: "I thought he was the key wicket for us (in 2012). So obviously, he will be a big miss for them.

"But they've got other quality players who've got plenty of runs out here. So there's plenty of other players we've got to watch out for."

Pakistan remain unbeaten since their forced relocation to the UAE five years ago - a record Anderson is keen to bring to an end.

"It's an exciting challenge - the conditions, the heat - and if we do perform well it will be very satisfying," said the Lancashire bowler.

"We want to improve on the performances from the summer. We know we can play better than we did, even though we won that series, and we want to continue to improve and show people how exciting we can be.

"Especially with Pakistan's record here, it's going to be a big 'ask'. And if we do manage to win it would be right up there," he added.

"It's huge. We're aware of the challenge ahead and of how we performed last time here, with a heavy defeat [a 3-0 series loss].

"But we lost the Ashes in 2013/14, then won them back, so it's all about how you prepare and play in a particular series. What happens in the past doesn't really matter that much."