England await scan verdict on Emilio Gay's shoulder as Pakistan Test looms
England opener Emilio Gay will undergo further treatment on a shoulder injury this week, with management hopeful he will be fit for the first Test against Pakistan starting on 19 August at Headingley.
Gay retired hurt while playing for Durham in their One-Day Cup match against Middlesex on Friday. The injury occurred in innocuous fashion — he played a textbook on-drive for four and felt his right shoulder go, according to the Telegraph. A scan on Saturday revealed no serious damage, the Times reported, but England want him assessed further before the series begins.
That assessment will take place at Beckenham, where Pakistan play a four-day warm-up game against a Professional County Club Select XI from Wednesday. Gay will work with medical staff at the venue but will not take part in the fixture, the BBC confirmed on 10 August.
The timing is awkward. England's batting order has already been reshuffled after the retirement of former captain Ben Stokes and a knee injury to Jacob Bethell that rules the young all-rounder out of the entire three-Test series. Jordan Cox moves up to number three in Bethell's place, while Dan Lawrence slots in at six and will bowl his off-spin as a fifth bowling option.
Joe Root returns as full-time captain for the Pakistan series, on his home ground of Headingley. Marcus Trescothick is acting as interim head coach; Stephen Fleming, appointed to lead the winter tour of South Africa, is not expected to arrive in the UK until September. Whether Fleming will be in the country before the Pakistan series ends remains unclear.
England have not called up additional batters as cover for Gay. Ollie Pope, already in the 16-strong squad as a reserve batter and wicketkeeper, would be one internal option to step in — though he is not a specialist opener. Should England look outside the squad, the names in the frame include a recall for Surrey's Dom Sibley or a first call-up for uncapped pair Ben McKinney of Durham and Glamorgan's Asa Tribe.
Shoulder trouble is not new for Gay. ECB county preview material ahead of the 2025 season noted he was recovering from shoulder and knee problems and would miss the start of that summer through injury.
For now, the wait is straightforward: treatment, assessment, and a decision before 19 August. England need their opener fit; they also need a settled top order in a series already stripped of Stokes and Bethell. The scan brought good news. The next few days will tell whether that is enough.
