Lancashire and England opener Haseeb Hameed has undergone surgery on a fractured finger sustained during the Championship fixture at Lord's earlier this week.
Hameed was injured on Thursday while batting in Lancashire's second innings against Middlesex. He left the field after being hit on the hand by James Harris and, although he returned to bat with Lancashire nine down in an attempt to stave off defeat, a fracture was confirmed after Middlesex eventually prevailed by 36 runs.
Lancashire have now announced that Hameed "suffered a fracture of the middle finger of his right hand ... and underwent surgery within 24 hours of the injury occurring". A statement added: "Haseeb will be monitored by the medical team on a regular and ongoing basis until he recovers full function and returns to batting."
The injury is likely to remove Hameed from England's Ashes planning, although he was perhaps an outside shot to be included in the squad having averaged only 28.50 in the Championship this season.
England's squad for Australia will be revealed next Wednesday, with a number of question marks over the party. Toby Roland-Jones suffered a back stress fracture in the same match at Lord's and is set to miss at least the start of the tour, while Mark Wood has only played one Championship game since hurting his heel during the Test series with South Africa.
Hameed has not played for England since last year's tour of India, when he fractured a finger on his left hand and required a plate to be inserted. He lost his place to Keaton Jennings, who scored a century on debut but was dropped this summer in favour of Mark Stoneman as England continued to tinker with their top order.