Catalogue of injuries rip through the English attack

Ryan Sidebottom has been unable to recover from a persistent thigh complaint and will fly home tomorrow, while Stuart Broad and Graham Onions are both awaiting MRI scans to determine the extent of their back problems.

That should not hinder Flower's team selection for today's final one-day international a great deal as Sidebottom missed the second match as well and Onions is only in the Test party. As such Yorkshire seamer Ajmal Shahzad and Durham's Liam Plunkett will do battle for Broad's spot, with the former likely to win out.

But Flower requires extra cover for the two-match Test series and has asked Tim Bresnan to stay on for the remainder of the trip, while England Lions quick Steven Finn will fly out.

Cataloguing a busy 24 hours for his medical staff, Flower said: "There has been a lot happening. Sidebottom has pulled a thigh muscle and will be going home after the one-dayers have finished. He won't be fit for the Test matches so he will go home.

"Bresnan is going to take his place and is going to stay on after the one-day series."

The Zimbabwean coach continued: "We also have concerns over Broad, who injured something in his back in the last ODI and Onions, who is also struggling with something in his back.

"Both of them are having MRI scans tomorrow and we will know more about their results tomorrow afternoon.

"Because of that we are bringing young Steven Finn out as cover for them in case they don't react well to treatment."

Of all the injuries, Broad's is the most worrying and also, potentially, the most serious.

Broad felt pain whilst bowling in the second over of his spell during Tuesday's series-clinching victory but bowled four more before exiting for treatment.

That appeared to have had little effect overnight as he arrived in Chittagong yesterday looking in serious discomfort.

He has already been ruled out of tomorrow's ODI and the subsequent three-day warm-up against Bangladesh A – meaning that his availability for the first Test must be 50-50 at best.

With James Anderson already missing the tour with a knee injury, Broad had been pencilled in as the leader of the attack. But Flower believes the fitness of fast bowlers is always a precarious thing.

"Broad is definitely out for now, he couldn't practice today and he won't be right for the three-day game either," he said.

"Hopefully he will recover quickly and be ready for the first Test but we can't be sure of that, which is part of the reason we are bringing young Finn out.

"Yes, we have had a little run of injuries but that happens with big, quick bowlers. They've got to put their bodies through quite an amazing amount of stress.

"It does happen and you can't go through a long period of time without those guys picking up little injuries."

And with the likes of Shahzad, Plunkett, Bresnan and now Finn all desperate to make their mark in the five-day game, Flower is hopeful of finding a silver lining amongst his bad news.

"This situation will give people opportunities so it could be that something good comes out of it," he said.