Northants head coach Sadler weighing up keeping options after McManus suffers broken finger

Lewis McManus is facing a spell on the sidelines after breaking a finger

The 28-year-old suffered the injury on Friday evening while batting in the first innings of Northants' innings-and-270-run pasting at the hands of Hampshire at the County Ground.

McManus, who had to retire hurt and was then unable to bat in the second innings, suffered a similar injury at the back end of last season that caused him to miss the final four LV= Insurance County Championship matches of the campaign.

The news is a serious blow to the player, the club and head coach John Sadler, who must now decided how McManus will be replaced in the red ball team for the three upcoming matches in May.

He does have options, in that Ricardo Vasconcelos and Australian import Sam Whiteman are both accomplished wicket-keepers, while Harry Gouldstone has also stepped up in the past and done a good job.

Asked about the extent of McManus's injury, Sadler confirmed: “It’s a broken finger.

“He’s going to see the specialist and he's going to make a call on what needs to be done, whether or not he can just rest and heal over time, or whether he might need a screw in it similar to last year.

“It's just a real blow for us really.

“We know we'll miss him; we’ll miss his presence; we’ll miss his skill and everything that he brings.

“But these things happen. In terms of time, we don't know yet, but it's certainly going to be at least a few weeks.”

And on who may replace him behind the stumps for the trip to Somerset on May 4?

“We've got options, but we’ve been so wrapped up in this (Hampshire) game over the last few hours, that I've not overthought how we're going to go about that," said Sadler.

“It will be nice to get away and chat with Proccy [Luke Procter], and see what he thinks.

“I know Vasco will do it if asked. He’s a team man and he'll do what he has to.

"So, we’ll take stock and whichever decision we're make, we’ll go with it.”

The loss to Hampshire, coupled with other results, means that Northants are now second bottom in the Championship table.

They are a single point ahead of rock-bottom Somerset, but are within six points of fifth-placed Notts.