Ollie Robinson is withdrawn from Sussex action by the ECB due to concerns over his fitness

Ollie Robinson was withdrawn from Sussex action by the ECB following concerns that his fitness is not yet up to the level required for first-class cricket.

The England seamer was scheduled to make his long-awaited comeback against Durham but the England medical team’s advice was to make him unavailable due to the fact a tooth infection that required dental surgery had forced him out of training for several days last week.

So, instead of being named in the home XI, the 28-year-old was consigned to bowling on the outfield during breaks in play at Hove. 

Ollie Robinson was withdrawn from Sussex action by the ECB because of fitness concerns

His face was visibly swollen following the procedure. 

England pinned their hopes on Robinson spearheading a new-look attack in last month’s Test series in the Caribbean after Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad were passed over in selection but he suffered a back spasm in the warm-up fixture in Antigua and was considered too much of a risk thereafter with matches back-to-back.

Three months ago, England bowling coach Jon Lewis publicly warned the Sussex seamer that he needed to become physically more robust after he followed the ransacking of Australia’s top order during the floodlit Ashes Test in Hobart by hobbling off with a back issue.

Robinson was ruled unavailable due to a tooth infection forcing him out of training last week

Ben Foakes’ (above) superb start to the 2022 summer was interrupted due to back stiffness

But for the tooth infection, he would have featured versus Worcestershire last week but now he has a month to prove he is physically robust enough to get through County Championship outings against Middlesex and Leicestershire, and potentially the tour match between Sussex and New Zealand, to be considered an option for the Lord’s Test against the New Zealanders, starting on June 2.

Meanwhile, back stiffness interrupted England wicketkeeper Ben Foakes’s fine start to the 2022 summer.

The 29-year-old averages 144 for Surry after three rounds of matches but missed the fourth at Gloucestershire due to the issue, which was not related to the collision the 29-year-old had with team-mate Jamie Overton last week in the win over Somerset.