Stuart Broad has been ruled out for the rest of England’s summer with a torn calf. The 35-year-old was due to win his 150th Test cap against India at Lord’s but the chances of him making a landmark appearance at the world’s most famous ground disappeared when he injured himself during training in the build-up.

The grade three tear will keep Test cricket’s sixth most prolific bowler in history sidelined for between 10-12 weeks.  That should see Broad back to bowling at full capacity by early November, the month in which the Test specialists are due to travel to Australia for the Ashes. 

He was struggling to put weight through his right leg on Wednesday when he was dispatched for scans on both his calf and Achilles. Broad’s injury means that England won’t be able to deploy him and long-time pace partner James Anderson together at Lord’s. “It would be a big loss, naturally, because they’ve (Broad and Anderson) got a thousand Test wickets between them,” Bairstow is quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

“But with that comes an opportunity for other people. When we’ve seen that previously in the summer, in the Pakistan (ODI) series, there were opportunities that arose for other people coming in and they rose to those challenges,” he said. Broad jumped over a hurdle in practice on Tuesday and twisted his ankle upon landing. He then felt a whip-like sensation on the back of the leg when he made his next step and turned around to discover no one was near him.

‘England seamer Stuart Broad has sustained a tear to his right calf and has been ruled out of the LV= Insurance Test series against India,’ read a statement from the ECB. ‘He underwent an MRI scan in London on Wednesday lunchtime, which revealed a tear.’ The bowler took to Instagram to wish his teammates luck as he began his road to recovery.

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Stuart Broad on this injury.

He said: ‘Things can change so quickly. A moment before training, all smiles, then during the warm-up, I jumped a hurdle, landed a bit awkwardly on my right ankle then the next step felt like I’d been whipped by a rope as hard as you can imagine on the back of my leg. I actually turned to @jimmya9 & asked why he whipped me! 

‘But when I realized he was nowhere near me I knew I was in trouble. Scans say grade 3 calf. All so innocuous. Season over & gutted to miss this India Test Series but a huge focus on Australia now. Going to take my time, no rush, baby steps & be the fittest I can be heading out there. A big focus in my brain. ‘Good luck to the @englandcricket boys this week. I’ll be watching every ball from my sofa hoping to see runs & wickets in the glorious Lord’s sunshine!’

The first Ashes Test will be played at Brisbane’s Gabba from December 8 to 12 ahead of a day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval from December 16 to 20. “Season over and sad to miss this India Test Series but a huge focus on Australia now. Going to take my time, no rush, baby steps, and be the fittest I can be heading out there,” Broad continued.

Broad’s injury lengthens England’s list of missing pace bowlers just a fifth of the way into the series against Virat Kohli’s team. Jofra Archer and Olly Stone, two of the three 90-mile-per-hour merchants in the ECB’s armory, have been sidelined until 2022 with stress fractures of the elbow and back respectively while all-rounder Ben Stokes will not be back by the time the India series concludes in mid- September.

The first Test between India and England ended in a draw after rain played spoilsport on the final day of the Test. The visitors looked set for victory, needing 157 runs to win on the final day, with nine wickets in hand, but the weather gods had something else in mind. The second Test begins from 12-18th August.