Broad unlikely to play again this year

Stuart Broad suffered his season-ending injury
in the one-day series against India 

Stuart Broad has admitted that he is unlikely to play again this year as he recovers from the shoulder injury he picked up against India, although has been told he won't require surgery.

Broad had already been ruled out of the matches against West Indies and the return one-day series in India, but had been given some hope of playing in the Twenty20 at Kolkata at the end of October. Now, though, that appears unlikely and Broad's aim is the tour of UAE in January which includes three Tests, four ODIs and three Twenty20s.

"The shoulder is still quite sore. It's a two-month injury so I'm concentrating on making sure I am in the best possible shape for the games against Pakistan in January," Broad said at the PCA awards dinner where he was named England's ODI player of the year. "It's not 100% confirmed I'll not play in India but I'll only play if the rehab goes fantastically well.

"It's good news that I don't need surgery. There is always an extra risk with surgery so that would be a worry. It is a two-month recovery time though so I need to get that right and make sure it is completely over and I don't have any side effects with it."

Broad's injury means he loses out furthering his captaincy experience in the Twenty20s against West Indies and Graeme Swann will lead the side in his absence. Missing the match against India next month will leave him only four or five matches before England's title defence at the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka next September.

However, the season has ended in a far more positive way for Broad than appeared likely at one stage when his Test place was under threat at the beginning of the series against India. He responded with a Man-of-the-Series display where he took 25 wickets in the 4-0 whitewash, along with vital runs at Lord's and Trent Bridge, to cement his place in the side.

"It was nice to repay the faith in the selectors, the coach and the captain," he said. "I managed to do that. Winning man of the series showed I can perform at the top level and that will give me a bit of confidence going into the future."