Stuart Broad has said that he does not expect his fellow bowler James Anderson to miss the entirety of England's tour to South Africa.
The 33-year-old has been ruled out of the upcoming Boxing Day Test because of a calf injury.
However, Broad has described the problem as "a slight niggle", rather than something that could sideline him for the other three Test matches.
"Of course it's disappointing when you lose the spearhead of your attack," he told reporters.
"I think, rather than it being a ruled out of the series type thing, it's just a slight niggle and the management decided that it really wasn't worth the risk in the first match of the series."
Early reports have claimed that Chris Woakes will replace Anderson in the bowling attack.