Warwickshire’s former England batsman Ian Bell will miss the start of the County Championship season having had an operation on his toe.

The 36-year-old is likely to be sidelined for three months after he required surgery to repair a ligament tear after a blow to the foot whilst training with Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League.

All done ✅ Road to recovery starts here ?? Thanks again for all your kind messages! Hopefully be back playing the game I love soon enough ?? @WarwickshireCCC @BearsT20 pic.twitter.com/juInXJx6Dg

— Ian Bell (@Ian_Bell) March 18, 2019

Bell broke the 1,000-run barrier in the County Championship in 2018 and claimed five centuries during their promotion-winning campaign.

Warwickshire’s first-team coach Jim Troughton remarked: “There are always unknowns with surgery, but Ian has always kept his fitness at the top level throughout his career.”