The injury is a blow for Tongue, 26, who impressed during his two Test appearances at Lord’s in the 2023 home summer, and had been anticipating a white-ball debut across formats as England seek to rebuild their fortunes after their disappointing World Cup campaign in India.
With his ability to generate awkward bounce at speeds in the region of 90mph, Tongue’s value to the England set-up was confirmed last month when he was handed a lucrative two-year ECB central contract.
Injury permitting, Tongue’s next opportunity for England honours could come on the five-Test tour of India, which gets underway in January. “I think my pace will help in subcontinental conditions and I can get the ball to reverse as well and my bouncer tactic, which [Ben] Stokes obviously likes, will benefit the team,” he said prior to the Lions trip.
For Potts, the late call-up is a chance to build on his brief taste of England white-ball action, having been selected for a one-off ODI debut against South Africa in 2022, and two further appearances against Ireland just prior to the World Cup, one of which was washed out.
Like Tongue, Potts was also the recipient of a two-year ECB contract for 2023-24, having impressed with his work ethic during his debut Test summer in 2022. He claimed 20 wickets at 28.00 in five appearances that year, before a further one-off appearance against Ireland at Lord’s this June.