Hoggard set to spend two days in oxygen chamber

London, July 10 (UNI) In a desperate bid to get fit for Thursday's first Test against Pakistan, England seamer Matthew Hoggard will spend the next 48 hours in an oxygen chamber to recover from an injury which left him with six stitches on his bowling hand.

The seamer, who has made 32 consecutive Test appearances till now, will be racing against time to be fit for his 33rd match after a freak accident involving Yorkshire and England A colleague Tim Bresnan, who trod on his hand during a warm-up on Saturday. Hoggard met a specialist last morning.

''He will be using the same oxygen room as Simon Jones used to advance his healing process,'' chairman of selectors David Graveney was quoted by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as saying.

''He will be inactive for the next couple of days and we will assess him later in the week. If we leave it five days it will give the cuts time to improve,'' he added.

England are already without talismanic allrounder Andrew Flintoff, who is recovering from an ankle injury, in the match.

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