England's Jos Buttler could miss the rest of the white-ball summer after tearing his calf

Jos Buttler could have already made his last white-ball appearance of the summer for England after suffering a torn right calf in his first.

MRI scans revealed a low-grade tear in the muscle after a man-of-the-match, unbeaten 68 in Cardiff on Wednesday put Eoin Morgan’s team on course for a series victory sealed 24 hours later on the same ground.

England’s vice-captain is expected to be side-lined for at least a fortnight, a period which rules out not only his participation in the one-day series against the Sri Lankans starting next week but also the beginning of six fixtures versus Pakistan from July 8.

Although a return during the three Pakistan Twenty20s that conclude limited-overs internationals here this summer remains an outside possibility, it is understood the team management’s priority is to get him fit for the first Test against India on August 4 after New Zealand preyed on the absence of several regulars to consign England to a first home series defeat in seven years this month.

The ECB are also keen to ensure Buttler’s presence for the start of the Hundred – from July 21 – as England player participation in the opening days is key to their marketing strategy for cricket’s fourth format.

In the short term, his absence will continue to give opportunities to others. Dawid Malan takes the vacated squad place for the 50-over games starting at Chester-le-Street next Tuesday, while the second T20 at Sophia Gardens and today’s series finale in Southampton have allowed Sam Billings to stake a claim for this year’s World Cup, having missed out on the historic 2019 one due to a dislocated shoulder.

Billings, who was included as reserve wicketkeeper for the Test team recently after telling head coach Chris Silverwood during 10 days of post Indian Premier League-quarantine at Heathrow that unlike others he did not require a break, appears to be competing with Liam Livingstone – the man with whom he shared a stabilising 54-run stand earlier this week – for a World Cup ticket as a finisher.

‘I started off as an opener and then moved down. It’s a role I really enjoy. Around the world, everyone wants to bat at the top of the order – leave them to it, I’ll slot in in the middle, wherever,’ said Billings, who averaged 78.75 doing just that for the ODI team last summer.

‘For me, that was a huge turning point. I put myself under a lot of pressure, of course, when I got that opportunity initially but the consistent run of games against very good attacks in Australia and Pakistan gave me confidence to back my own game, and it was my consistency that was really pleasing. I got the job done repeatedly.’

Billings is now set to don the gloves again in England training sessions, having initially concentrated on fielding drills this week, with the Kent captain saying ‘we have to be pretty fluid with it,’ of splitting his practise between the two disciplines.