Anthony McGrath has suffered a setback in his bid to recover from surgery on his left knee by developing a nerve problem in his right leg. Speaking to the Yorkshire Post, Martyn Moxon described McGrath's chances of featuring in the Championship opener at Worcester on 8 April as 'doubtful'. McGrath will undergo a scan to assess the extent of the problem.

Yorkshire's Director of Professional Cricket, said: “We’ll know more after the scan. The knee he had operated on is fine, but he’s developed a nerve problem down the right side of his leg. He could be struggling for next week, but we’ll have to wait and see. If that’s the case, we could be looking for another No 3 potentially, but we’re crossing our fingers that ‘Mags’ will be fit.”

McGrath developed the nerve problem in Barbados when he was undergoing rehab from the knee surgery.

Moxon added: “It’s frustrating because ‘Mags’ had come back well from the other problem and, within a few days of us getting to Barbados, was batting with throw-downs and then, at the end of the trip, batting in the middle against the bowlers. He also played a full part in a net session we had on Monday morning, but the nerve problem came back and then became quite acute.”

“It’s up in the air as to who would come in if ‘Mags’ isn’t fit,” said Moxon. “Joe has put himself in the frame and so has Gary, so we’ve certainly got options. The good thing from my point of view is that there’s plenty of competition for the Worcester match. Hopefully we’ll have ‘Mags’ available but, if we don’t, there are other players knocking on the door.”