England's ashes preperations were dealt a severe blow yesterday when England captain Nasser Hussain suffered yet another injury, a broken thumb which will lay him out of action for at least a month.

He will miss the second and final Test of the current series as well as the start of next month's triangular one-day NatWest Series with Pakistan and Australia. Former skipper Alec Stewart will captain in Hussain's place. It is unlikely that Hussain will take part in the one day series in order to make sure his injury heals completely - the thumb is one of the hardest indexes to heal.

Hussain was struck on the hand while trying to avoid a bouncer from Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, it was his third injury in as many seasons.

Hussain continued to bat after the knock but fell soon after to a catch behind off the bowling off allrounder Azhar Mahmood. The side went on to finish 391 all out.

"It's hugely disappointing," Hussain told the BBC. "When you're playing well, you want to keep a bat in your hand. It's lucky, though, that I did it towards the end of the innings and not at the beginning.

"The physio tells me I won't need surgery so it's just a matter of resting and coming back when I'm pain free."

Only time will tell whether Hussain will be ready for the ashes series, but early indications are positive for the Essex man.