Eoin Morgan downplays England's injury concerns

Sports Saturday 15/June/2019 18:44 PM
By: Times News Service
Eoin Morgan downplays England's injury concerns

London: England captain Eoin Morgan said that his team is "not at panic stations", after he and Jason Roy left the field with discomfort during the game against West Indies in Southampton on Friday, 14 June.
Both Roy and Morgan had left the field at different points during West Indies' innings and didn't come out to bat in England's comfortable eight-wicket win on Friday. Roy pulled his hamstring, while Morgan was afflicted by a sore back.
The England captain acknowledged that the two key players going off was a reason for some worry, but reassured that the team wasn't hitting the panic button yet.
"I think when any two players go down it is a little bit of a worry," he said after the game. "I don't think -- we are not at panic stations or anything yet. We will just see how we get on in the next 48 hours and go from there."
Morgan felt his soreness was caused by a back spasm – an issue that has troubled him earlier. He expected things to settle down over the next 'few days'.
"I've had back spasms before. We think it is another back spasm. It normally takes a few days to settle down, so yeah... We'll know more in the next 24 hours, see how I pull up tomorrow."
The extent of Roy's injury will also come to light over the next couple of days after he undergoes scans. "I don't know how he will pull up tomorrow. He had a tight hamstring so he will go for a scan tomorrow and probably it will take 48 hours before we have the results and stuff."
With Roy unable to open, Joe Root took over opening duties and engineered the chase of 213 with a masterful, unbeaten century – his second of the tournament, taking him to the top of the run-scoring charts. Morgan couldn't be more pleased.
"Exceptionally pleased," exclaimed Morgan. "I think he is now the highest run scorer in the tournament. He's scored two hundreds. He's such an important player for us. He is the glue that holds everything together and probably a side of his batting that has got better over the last two or three years that people haven't seen a lot of, his expansive game."
England's next match is against Afghanistan on Tuesday, 18 June. They'll take comfort in knowing that they have batsmen to step up to the task, even if one or more have to sit out with injury concerns.