Jason Roy, Liam Plunkett highly likely unavailable for T20 opener against Australia

England opening batsman Jason Roy and fast bowler Liam Plunkett are uncertain for the Tri-nation Twenty20 fixture against Australia which is scheduled on February 7 (Wednesday) after suffering from respective injuries.

“One of the reasons the injuries have been niggly is the flight over to Canberra, then two training days,” Morgan was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia.

Pertinently, the fitness has been a major sign for the English camp in the recent past which further saw the uncertainty looming large for the Three Lions opener against the hosts when it comes to the premium players struggling to maintain the fitness.

“Perhaps we’ll look at that again. We do a lot of flying in this series so we might not train as much as we’re supposed to,” Morgan added.

Earlier, skipper Morgan remarked Plunkett and Roy have been recuperating but wasn’t sure about the inclusion of the explosive batsman in particular.

“Rest and recuperation might limit the injuries a little.” Morgan further added.

Fast bowler Chris Jordan and opening batter Alex Hales could be considered for the short-paced fixture as England have already the backup plan for the injured players after the fascinating competition.

“We’ve guys queuing up at the minute, which is great,” Morgan reiterated.

Interestingly, Hales has already suffered the hand injury and Jordan picked hamstring in the recent past as Morgan in the press conference maintained both are expected to be available for the match.

“Jordan and Hales are expected to be fit, Plunkett and Roy are closer to 50-50,” Morgan asserted.

Roy struggling with back issue:

The right-handed 27-year-old batsman Roy is suffering from back spasm as he has missed the warm-up fixture in Canberra on February 2.

“Jason [Roy had a light back spasm, overnight that got worse. He woke up Friday and it was worse,” Morgan maintained.

Earlier, Roy has been magnificent with the bat in the Gillette One-day International series when he struck record 180 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

“It could be five days which runs him tight up to the game in Hobart,” Morgan stated.

Plunkett suffers from hamstring strain:

On the other side, the 32-year-old Yorkshire-based right-arm bowler has pulled the hamstring which forced the improved bowler to warm the bench in the last two fixtures of ODI series that ended on 4-1 in the favour of Morgan-led England.

It’s further expected to be a major blow for England to miss their premium players for the Blundstone Arena game and David Willey in the practice game smashed 36-ball 76 as his quickfire innings included five consecutive maximums on the bowling of off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

“Five balls in I was sure he was going to hit a sixth six, it just felt like he would. It was Chris Gayle-esque hitting,” Morgan concluded.

The T20 series kicked off on February 3 which was convincingly won by Australia by seven wickets against New Zealand.

Follow T20 results here: Tri-nation Twenty20 series