Sehwag fit despite rib blow

Bangalore - Virender Sehwag, India's in-form batsman, suffered an injury scare in a practice session on Friday when he was struck on the left side of his ribs in the nets two days ahead of a Cricket World Cup showdown with England.

Sehwag, who hit a magnificent 175 in India's opening victory over Bangladesh in Dhaka, was struck in the lower portion of his rib cage and immediately dropped his bat and fell to his knees.

He was attended to by medical staff on the practice arena for about 20 minutes before walking off while his team mates continued their practice at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

An Indian team spokesperson said later that Sehwag's injury was not serious enough to require a trip to the hospital for scans but added that he was being kept "under observation" in the stadium and being treated with ice.

"He will take no further part in training today. It's just a precautionary measure. I don't know about tomorrow," Indian team manager Ranjib Biswal said.

An Indian cricket board (BCCI) statement said later that it expected the batsman to be fit to play England.

Sehwag had already been struggling with a knee injury which forced him to play with a runner for a major part of his innings against Bangladesh in the tournament's opening match last Saturday.

Sehwag had skipped practice for two straight days after the knee injury.

Host nation India, pre-tournament favourites to win the World Cup, are battling a series of injuries to key players.

Sehwag is the second batsman to be added to the injury list after batsman Yuvraj Singh was hit on his hand by bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth in practice on Thursday.

The explosive middle-order batsman, however, showed no after-effects in training on Friday as he went through the entire practice session in the day, including batting and bowling.

India are already without the services of pacer Praveen Kumar, who had to pull out of the tournament at the last minute after failing a fitness test.

Over the weekend, Sehwag's opening partner, Sachin Tendulkar, underwent a scan after he complained of a slight pain in his left knee due to an old injury.

The scan was clear and Tendulkar was fit to join his team mates at the practice sessions in Bangalore.

The England match here on Sunday has already sparked a clash between fans and police on Thursday after an announcement that all tickets for the public had sold out.