Compton's campaign in the balance

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Somerset batsman Nick Compton is facing a race against time to be fit before the season comes to a conclusion.

The 29-year-old, who was the first player to pass 1,000 first-class runs this campaign, is suffering from a prolapsed disc.

Compton told Somerset’s website: “My back is still stiff and sore so I’m just taking things a day at a time.

“I’m working overtime in terms of swimming and physiotherapy twice a day to try and get myself back on the pitch as soon as possible.

Nick Compton's back problem, which could bring his season to a premature end, flared up during England Lions' clash with Australia A

“It’s not a serious injury. It is a bulge in a disc, which I was able to manage for a while, but then flared up during my last England Lions game to an extent where I wasn’t able to continue playing.

“There is no point in going out and letting the team down, so I need to be happy that I am ready to do myself justice and make a positive contribution.

“I’ve batted for long periods this season and it’s hard to pinpoint when the injury happened. It might even have been last winter because it has been a gradual process and I was becoming more down after each game until I had to stop.

“It’s very rare you go onto the field as a fully-fit athlete and you get used to putting up with a certain amount of discomfort, but it became too much.

“I don’t want to be thinking about my back when I am out there batting. In the Lions game I got to 40-odd runs and then hit a sweep shot, which somehow made the level of pain go higher than I had experienced before.

“It was massively disappointing because it was a big opportunity for me.”

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