The 19-year-old will not need an operation, however, and retains hopes of playing a part as a specialist batter this season
Jacob Bethell will not bowl again this season having been diagnosed with a stress fracture of the back.
While Bethell is just 19, he broke into the England Lions set-up over the winter and started the season in Warwickshire's County Championship side as a spin option batting at No.8. He is viewed by the club as one of the most promising young players they have had in many years.
He will not need an operation, however, and retains hopes of playing a part as a specialist batter this season.
But while his batting remains his primary skill, the lack of bowling may render first-team selection a little more problematic.
"The prognosis is that he won't be able to bowl again this summer which is a real blow because he's a genuine all-rounder," Mark Robinson, Warwickshire's head coach, said. "Hopefully he'll be able to play at some point with the bat alone as I'm told that won't affect the injury.
A return to the first-team picture could be on the cards for Danny Briggs, who hasn't played this season (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
"We're all hurting for him and have our fingers' crossed for a speedy recovery. But we have strength in the side and it means there is an opportunity for somebody else to step forward and impress."
Warwickshire are also without Liam Norwell for the Championship match against Surrey which starts at Edgbaston on Thursday (April 27). Norwell, who managed only four Championship matches in 2022, suffered a bad spasm on the eve of the season.
Bethell's ill fortune could mean a recall for Danny Briggs. Bethell was, somewhat surprisingly, preferred to Briggs as a spinner in the first match of the season with the club choosing to give him some extra time to recover from a knee injury.
He has come into the squad for the Surrey match having taken 5 for 53 in the first innings of the second XI game between the counties earlier in the week.
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