England caught out as Eoin Morgan plays down injury that cost him World Cup place

By Lawrence Booth for the Daily Mail in Dhaka
Updated: 20:28 EST, 14 February 2011

England are facing awkward questions over the handling of Eoin Morgan after their star one-day batsman claimed the broken finger that ruled him out of the World Cup was not as serious as first thought.

Morgan was informed on February 7 that he would require surgery after injuring himself 12 days earlier during a one-day match in Adelaide. He was told to expect a six-week lay-off, ruling him out of all six World Cup group games.

But on Monday Morgan, who was replaced in England's squad by Ravi Bopara, implied he could have played a part in the later group matches after all.

'Some good news this morning,' he tweeted. 'No need for an op on my finger. Pretty much healed. Will be back sooner than expected!!'

A friend of Morgan said: 'It's a bit annoying for him. He should have come back home as soon as he picked up the injury. That delay has cost him. If the World Cup final was tomorrow, I reckon he'd be able to play.'

The ECB strongly denied those claims on Monday night, saying the medical staff agreed to monitor the middle finger on Morgan's left hand after the player insisted he had only bruised it in Adelaide before playing further ODIs in Brisbane and Sydney.

The board also said Morgan would still need a few more weeks before his finger could be assessed again, let alone subjected to match conditions.

But Morgan's tweet will inevitably lead to accusations of an own goal so close to a tournament England are desperate to win to complete a golden 12 months, having captured the World Twenty20 and retained the Ashes.

In any case, it is understood to be too late to reinstate Morgan in the squad, so he may have to wait until April, and a stint with Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Night Riders, to play again.