England`s World Cup preparations on Tuesday received a major setback after explosive batsman Eoin Morgan was ruled out of the event following a broken finger, forcing the ECB to name Ravi Bopara as his replacement.
Morgan missed the final one-day international of the recently concluded series against Australia after fracturing the middle finger of his left hand, a problem he first became aware of in the fourth one-day match.
"That`s a serious loss to us. He injured it in that Adelaide game and didn`t think it was serious. But it got worse the more he played and practised. The pain grew worse and therefore the medical team got on to it. He needs to be operated on," England coach Andy Flower was quoted as saying by `The Guardian`.
The Middlesex batsman was one of the most important members of the England`s World Cup squad and one who picked up injuries on the Australia tour. Graeme Swann, Tim Bresnan, Ajmal Shahzad, Paul Collingwood, Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett all suffered injuries of varying seriousness.
Flower said that his replacement Bopara, the Essex all-rounder who has been with the England Lions in the West Indies, will bring plenty to the squad.
"No one is irreplaceable. Ravi Bopara is a very talented and exciting player. He will also bring a bit of medium-pace bowling to help out. We`re confident the 15 players we`ve got out there will gel," said Flower.
Bopara`s last one-day international was against Pakistan at The Oval in September. He averages 28.50 from 54 matches.
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