Olly Stone: England fast bowler has stress fracture in lower back

Olly Stone made his ODI debut for England in October

England fast bowler Olly Stone has a stress fracture in his lower back, his county Warwickshire have confirmed.

The 25-year-old returned from the West Indies tour last week for further tests which revealed the fracture.

Stone made his one-day international debut against Sri Lanka in October and played in four of the five matches.

"We're bitterly disappointed for Olly who has already had his fair share of injury heartache," said Bears first-team coach Jim Troughton.

Stone previously spent just over a year out after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee as he celebrated the wicket of Moeen Ali while playing for Northamptonshire in 2016.

Warwickshire are relieved that the scan showed it to be only a partial, not full stress fracture. He is due to have another scan in a few weeks, by which time the Bears will know whether he has any chance of making the start of the new county season, which begins on 11 April.

"Getting himself into the England set-up was a great achievement so the timing of this setback is a tough one for him," Troughton added.

"The science and medical staff at Warwickshire will work closely with Olly, in partnership with the England medical team, and hopefully we can have him back to bowling as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, Warwickshire's England Under-19 batsman Liam Banks has signed a new deal with the Bears.

Banks, 19, is now tied to Edgbaston until at least the end of the 2020 domestic season.