Butcher's Surrey return delayed

The best thing for me is to make sure I'm back and firing in the lead-up to the Ashes Mark Butcher

Surrey captain Mark Butcher's recovery from a wrist operation is going slower than expected and he will not return to the team as planned in early May.

Club physio Greg Mullings told BBC Sport: "He has started hitting soft balls but is still getting some pain."

Earlier, Butcher admitted he would not have time to stake a claim for an England place ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh starting on 26 May.

He said: "I'm going to be struggling to have played enough cricket by then."

Butcher injured the wrist during a gym session on tour in South Africa in the middle of the Test series.

The place currently alternating between Butcher and Kent's Robert Key in England's batting make-up is the subject of fevered speculation.

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With Key struggling to convince at present, Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen are also vying for the opportunity.

Butcher's surgery involved re-attaching a ligament in his left wrist that had been torn away from the bone causing huge discomfort.

Mullings said: "It's quite a common injury for golfers where the recovery schedule is based on a 12-week period.

"What we have found with Mark is that it may end up being a little bit longer because in cricket you are hitting a heavy ball which is moving towards you, unlike in golf.

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"We first earmarked early May for Mark to return to the team but at this point in time there's quite a bit of improvement to go before he's 100%."

Butcher, talking on BBC Five Live on Friday, said: "The best thing for me is to make sure I'm back and firing in the lead-up to the Ashes and give the selectors a choice to make."

But he knows that Bell, Key and Pietersen will have put forward cases of their own by then.

Surrey were beaten by Bradford/Leeds UCCE on Saturday, with injuries afflicting bowlers Rikki Clarke, Ian Salisbury and Martin Bicknell.

Clarke turned his ankle and was pulled out of Sunday's match against Lancashire, but should be back soon.

Salisbury (intercostal muscle strain) and Bicknell (hamstring spasm) both face two weeks out