HAMPSHIRE captain James Vince has been added to England's squad for the T20 World Cup, replacing the injured Jason Roy.

Roy will miss the rest of the tournament with a torn left calf as England’s preparations for their semi-final against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday were dealt a major setback.

The in-form opening batter suffered the injury as England lost for the first time in their campaign against South Africa on Saturday, and a subsequent scan has drawn a line through his name for the remainder of the tournament.

Vince has been brought into the squad, having been one of two remaining travelling reserves, with Roy joining left-arm quick Tymal Mills on the sidelines ahead of England’s most important T20 since the 2016 World Cup final.

Roy said: “I’m gutted to be ruled out of the World Cup. It is a bitter pill to swallow.

“I will be staying on to support the boys, and hopefully, we can go all the way and lift that trophy. It has been an unbelievable journey so far, and we have to continue expressing ourselves and concentrating on us.

“The rehab has already started, and even though I’ve torn my calf, I’m going to give myself the best chance of being ready for the T20 tour of the Caribbean at the start of next year.”

England headed out to the Gulf without Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Sam Curran, while Mills has succumbed to a right thigh strain and Roy has now joined the casualty list with an injury that looked an immediate concern at Sharjah.

He was seen on crutches after England’s 10-run loss to the Proteas – with Eoin Morgan’s side still qualifying for the semis as winners of their Super 12s group – plunging his participation in the rest of the tournament into doubt.

While Vince has been parachuted into the 15-strong group, it may be that Sam Billings will come into the middle order, with one of Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali or Liam Livingstone opening alongside Buttler.

An alternative is to bolster a bowling line-up that collected just two wickets and leaked 189 runs against South Africa. In that scenario the left-arm seam of David Willey, also handy with the bat, presents a tempting option.