Worcestershire paceman Josh Tongue has begun his rehab programme after undergoing surgery last month for a lumbar spine injury.
The 19-year-old was unable to bowl during the final stages of the 2016 campaign after feeling soreness in his back following his participation in a two day game for England Under-19s versus the Unicorns at Loughborough.
Tongue will spend the next three months building up his body strength before starting a back to bowling programme with the aim of being able to bowl off a full run during the County's pre-season build-up.
Worcestershire CCC first team physiotherapist Ben Davies said: "Josh had a proceedure on September 12 in London with Mr Lester Wilson who is a back specialist just to try and get on top of the problems he is having with stress fractures in his lower back.
"He's had the proceedure done so he is now just starting on the early stages of rehab work now.
"He will be getting in the pool, just starting to build up his core and trunk strength until Christmas.
"Then he will be doing a really nice back to bowling programme, hopefully bowling off a full run in pre-season."
Academy Tongue is regarded as one of Worcestershire's brightest prospects and made his first team debut against Oxford MCCU in April and picked up four wickets but then suffered a stress reaction in one of his lumbar vertebrae during a second team game.
Tongue was expected to be side-lined for 12 weeks but returned ahead of schedule and signed a new three year contract in July before his latest injury after being chosen for the England Under-19s to face Sri Lanka.
