Jimmy Anderson will bowl for the first time in two months this week but will now miss the first three Tests of England's tour of India.

The 34-year-old has been out since August with a stress fracture of the shoulder blade but received the green light to resume bowling on Friday, when a scan in London showed the damage was almost healed.

Before the first Test in Bangladesh, England captain Alastair Cook confirmed Anderson was already out of the opening match of five in Rajkot starting on November 9.

England bowler Jimmy Anderson set to bowl for the first time in two months this week

The 34-year-old paceman has been out since August with a shoulder injury

Although this latest news allays fears he will miss the entire India series, it is understood the England hierarchy are erring on the side of caution.

Anderson's last strenuous bowling work-out came in the final Test against Pakistan at The Oval on August 13.

England's record Test wicket-taker will be asked to undergo an extended recovery programme, bowling in the indoor nets at Old Trafford and at Loughborough, where a heated tent is erected annually to allow England Lions players to practice on grass pitches deep into autumn.

Anderson will then have to participate in the first two of three one-day matches for the Lions against a United Arab Emirates XI in Dubai on December 1 and 3.

That would effectively allow him to feature in the final two Tests at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, a venue where he finished on the winning side in 2006 and 2012, and Chennai. Those back-to-back matches begin on December 8.