England hit by Denly injury

Opener hurts knee during warm-up kickabout

Last updated: 4th September 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

England hit by Denly injury

Denly: hurt playing football

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England batsman Joe Denly will miss the opening game of the NatWest Series after hurting his knee during a warm-up game of football.

Denly, 23, was carried off the Brit Oval pitch after a tackle from Owais Shah in the kickabout, which England's cricket team often start their practice sessions with.

The clash left Denly injured on the ground for 15 minutes before he was helped off by England physio Kirk Russell and head of security Reg Dickason.

He was immediately sent for a scan and will meet with a specialist on Friday to discuss the results.

The ritual of playing football before matches has been criticised in the past. Matt Prior suffered a back spasm while playing football during England's warm up for the fourth Ashes Test at Headingley.

England play Australia in the opening instalment of the seven-match NatWest Series at the Brit Oval on Friday.

Denly had been expected to open the batting, having hit 67 on his one-day international debut against Ireland last week.