Chris Woakes felt like he had been stabbed by a knife when suffering the injury that ended his Champions Trophy campaign just one match into the tournament.

The all-rounder broke down after bowling two overs in England’s eight-wicket victory over Bangladesh on Thursday, with scans after the match confirming a left side strain that leaves him now struggling to be fit for the first Test against South Africa next month. A replacement – expected to be Steven Finn – will be added to the 50-over squad on Saturday.

“It’s really frustrating,” said Woakes. “It’s a tough one to take, right at the start of a tournament which we have been building up to as a team for a while. We’ve had our eyes on the Champions Trophy for a while now and we were coming into the tournament in good form.

“I finished two overs but it was probably on the third or fourth ball of the second that it felt like something had become tight in my side. I managed to finish the over but by the last ball I knew that something really wasn’t right. It felt like someone was sticking a knife in my side.”

All signs point to a recall for Finn, who missed out on the original squad despite opening the bowling during the Caribbean tour in March. The Middlesex right-armer is set to play for the Lions against South Africa A in Northampton on Saturday and unless he fails and rival seamer Tom Curran stars, he is likely to be added to Eoin Morgan’s squad.

Toby Roland-Jones, who impressed the management on his debut at the start of the week, was cleared to start a four-day match for Middlesex on Friday, while Stuart Broad – the bowler opponents fear the most – has been kept as a Test specialist since the last World Cup.

Absolutely devastated to pick up the injury, a tough one to take! I appreciate all the support and messages. Backing the lads all the way! — Chris Woakes (@chriswoakes) June 2, 2017

It is a sign of just how far Woakes has risen in the past 12 months that his injury represents a major blow to England’s chances of winning their first 50-over global tournament and his absence will be felt in the death overs when he is one of England’s chief assets, to go with his new-ball prowess.

Liam Plunkett deputised to good effect on Thursday, with his figures of four for 59 including a pivotal double-strike in the 45th over and a final over that shipped only six runs and saw the dangerous Sabbir Rahman removed.

Asked if he wanted to continue in the role, Plunkett replied: “Yes, I do. You get all the glory doing that, don’t you? You can go round the park but it gives you the chance to pick up wickets. It is something we all work on. You have to work on your skills in case someone goes down and you need to bowl at the death. But I do enjoy it. It is a challenge, with people playing reverse sweeps and stuff, but it’s good fun when it goes your way.

“That’s why you play. You don’t play to make the numbers up, you want to be the player that takes the wickets. That is what you get picked for. It depends who gets called up but you do want to take it on and be that leader of the bowling attack. Let’s see what happens but I’m happy to take that on my shoulders. I feel in a good place.”

England’s next opponents are New Zealand in Cardiff on Tuesday, with some early talk that Adil Rashid – their leading wicket-taker since the World Cup – could miss out again because of the short straight boundary, meaning either David Willey or the replacement for Woakes could step up immediately. Morgan has already said Jason Roy will keep his place, with his opening partner, Alex Hales, unsurprisingly tipping a revival after a run of single-figure scores.

Hales, who made an 86-ball 95 at The Oval, said: “[Jason] is pretty level-headed in good and bad times. In international cricket there will be tough times – I have had plenty before in the past – and you have to remain confident and keep backing your skills. Jason is a massive confidence player so once he gets a few away he will be right back in form. He has done well against the world’s best teams. A big score is just around the corner for him.”