Rory Burns is expected to require an operation on his left ankle which will rule him out of England’s tour to Sri Lanka in March.

Burns suffered ligament damage playing football on the day before the second Test, leading him to fly home. He will see a specialist in England this week, with England believing that he is likely to require an operation.

As well as missing the final three Tests of the South Africa series, this means that Burns is expected not to be fit for the two Tests in Sri Lanka, which begin on March 19. His involvement in the 2020 domestic season could also be delayed.

Football has been banned in England training sessions since the injury to Burns, such is the frustration about his injury, which follows an injury obtained by Jonny Bairstow during a football warm-up in Sri Lanka in 2018.

Burns will be a certainty to return to the team when fit after averaging 44.5 since the start of the Ashes, making two Test centuries in that time. He has become increasingly essential to the England Test team in recent months, and was singled out for praise by Australia’s head coach Justin Langer after last year’s Ashes series.