Ashley Giles

England spinner Ashley Giles is likely to miss most of the season, having undergone further surgery on a hip injury.

The Warwickshire slow left-armer has just returned from a week in Colorado, where he had a third operation on his right hip — an injury that proved more serious than first thought.

Giles, who will be on crutches for eight weeks, will see specialist Mark Phillopon in Florence in June, but no date has been set for a possible return to action. “The operation was more straightforward than the one I had last summer but I will be on crutches for longer,” Giles said.

“At this stage I can’t say how long I will be out of action, but it could be for most of the summer.”

Giles, 34, missed the whole of last season because of the hip complaint. It required two operations plus a third on a related groin problem, to allow him to return to action in last winter’s Ashes series.