Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt has been ruled out of at least England’s next two matches at the T20 World Cup by a left calf injury suffered on Tuesday.
Sciver-Brunt, 33, retired hurt on 48 not out during England’s four-wicket victory over Ireland in Southampton.
Scans on Wednesday have revealed a strain in the all-rounder’s left calf – the same muscle she injured earlier this summer.
She will miss Saturday’s match against Scotland and Wednesday’s meeting with West Indies but England have not ruled her out of the tournament at this stage.
England say their captain will continue to be assessed over the coming weeks.
Sciver-Brunt’s calf first became an issue when she suffered a “minor” tear playing a domestic match on 29 April. She would later be ruled out of white-ball series against New Zealand and India.
Playing solely as a batter, she returned for the official warm-up matches against Australia and India, making a fifty in the second match, before hitting 46 not out in the World Cup opener against Sri Lanka.
She was again fluent in taking her side to the brink of victory on Tuesday.
If Sciver-Brunt does not play again in the tournament, it would be a major blow to their hopes of winning a first World Cup in nine years.
She remains their best batter and is one of three survivors from their famous win at home in the 50-over World Cup in 2017.
But, with two wins from two, England are already well-placed at the top of Group 2, which will help them cope with their captain and best batter’s absence.
They will likely only have to win two of their remaining three matches to reach the semi-finals.
The first semi-final is on 30 June and the second on 2 July.
All-rounder Charlie Dean will deputise against Scotland and West Indies in Sciver-Brunt’s absence.
She had not captained her country before this summer but led England to T20 series victories over New Zealand and India when Sciver-Brunt was injured.
Batter Sophia Dunkley, who lost her place when Sciver-Brunt regained fitness, is most likely to take the place in England’s XI.
She has a top score of 26 in six internationals this summer.
