Harmison out for rest of season

Harmison had recently returned after hernia surgery

England pace bowler Stephen Harmison will miss the rest of the county season with a back injury.

Scans confirmed Harmison has a muscle tear in his right lower back, suffered playing for Durham last week.

"The England management will consider opportunities for Harmison to play in the lead up to the Test tour of Sri Lanka in November," said a statement.

He no longer plays one-day cricket so Harmison's target will be the first Test in Sri Lanka on 1 December.

The injury is expected to keep him out of action for between six and eight weeks.

Harmison had only recently returned to action from hernia surgery, which sidelined him for the Test series against India.

He is expected to train with Newcastle United football club as part of his rehabilitation.

Two scans have identified internal bleeding in his back, thought to be related to the muscle tear.

It was been a disjointed domestic season for Harmison, who struggled for form early on and then attempted to delay surgery on his troublesome hernia to get through the three-Test campaign against India.

Despite playing for a couple of weeks after first experiencing discomfort during the fourth Test win over West Indies at Durham's Chester-le-Street home, Harmison suffered a recurrence of the problem on the eve of the Lord's opener against India.

Yet he was back on the field for Durham as captain just three weeks after undergoing surgery, captaining the side against Sri Lanka A, in his bid to get fit for last Saturday's Friends Provident Trophy final