Dimuth Karunaratne joins Sri Lanka's injured list

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Sri Lanka have suffered a serious blow to their squad for the forthcoming series against West Indies, with opener Dimuth Karunaratne out of at least part of the tour with injury.

An x-ray has confirmed the presence of a fracture in the index finger of Karunaratne's left hand, which will rule him out for at least a few weeks. If the fracture requires surgery - and a decision on that front will be made over the next 24 hours - he will almost certainly be out until July. The three Tests against West Indies are scheduled for June.

"It's a clean crack in the finger, and for now I have been told that I will probably be out for the West Indies tour," Karunaratne told ESPNcricinfo. "But I have to see another surgeon before we know exactly what is happening."

The injury had been sustained while Karunaratne was batting in the nets in the approach to Sri Lanka's Super Provincial one-day tournament, the first round of which began on Wednesday.

The injury adds to an already heaving Sri Lanka injury roster. Bowlers Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera and Shehan Madushanka are already in serious doubt for the West Indies tour. Given Karunaratne's success in 2017 - he was the fifth-highest Test run scorer in 2017, with 1031 runs - his potential absence is the biggest blow yet.

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EMBARGO: Footitt joins Derbyshire on loan deal

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Nottinghamshire's left-arm fast bowler Mark Footitt has joined Derbyshire on an initial 28-day loan deal where he will be available to play Specsavers County Championship and Royal London One-Day Cup cricket.

The 32-year-old, who spent six seasons with Derbyshire between 2010 and 2015, is earmarked for two four-day matches and five 50-over games, starting against Warwickshire at Edgbaston on Thursday.

"Mark's pre-season has been affected by injury and we feel it's a good opportunity for him to get out there and get some cricket under his belt," said Nottinghamshire'd director of cricket Mick Newell.

"Our pace attack has started the season in fine form and Mark has found himself short of game time so far. Hopefully he can get some overs under his belt and come back ready to go when the season ramps up from June onwards."

The move suits Derbyshire who have fielded a high-class pace attack this season in three bowlers with international experience - Duanne Olivier, Ravi Rampaul and Hardus Viljoen - but who have limited stocks in reserve and fear the danger of overbowling their prize assets as a conequence.

Derbyshire's cricket advisor, Kim Barnett, said: "We're grateful to Nottinghamshire and Peter Moores for allowing Mark to join us for this busy period, and I'm sure this arrangement will be good for all parties."

This move for Footitt is not as angst-ridden as the last, involving just a few miles up the A52. He admitted that a weight had been lifted from his shoulders when Surrey gave him permission to return to Nottinghamshire in the middle of last season on a two-and-a-half year deal. The strain of hotel living, away from his fianc and daughter in London had become too much.

Footitt has travelled this way before. He first joined Derbyshire in 2009 after Nottinghamshire released him from his contract as injuries bedevilled his early career. He became a firm favourite at Derbyshire, taking 82 County Championship wickets in 2014. He moved south to Surrey, fired by England ambitions, and came close to a Test debut when he was chosen for the South Africa tour of 2015/16 but never played.

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