England coach Andy Flower is delighted to see Graeme Swann back out on field and bowling to a high standard just one day after an injury scare almost ruled him out of Ashes series.
Swann was involved in an incident on Tuesday during the warm-up game with Essex at Chelmsford when he was struck on the right forearm by the left-arm pace of Tymal Mills.
There were a lot of worried faces around the England camp in the hours after the spin bowler fell for 94 and was taken to hospital for further X-rays on the injury.
The 34-year-old returned to the field of play after his side declared on 413-9 and he was back at the wicket on the final day as England looked to try and wrap the game up and take victory.
The Nottinghamshire man showed no sign of ill-effects to pick up bowling figures of 5-68 in 20 impressive overs to see Essex all out for 186 and keep the momentum building ahead of the Ashes series.
The former Northants man is an integral part of the squad with a wealth of experience – he played in the Ashes-winning sides of 2009 and 2010-11 – taking 29 wickets in 10 Tests against Australia.
Flower said: “There were great concerns about him. We thought he might have cracked his ulna.
“Luckily it wasn’t the case, but it was badly swollen – not only when he was batting but afterwards. For a couple of hours, we thought he might have been missing (from the start of the Ashes) – which would have been a serious blow.”
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