EXPERIENCED all-rounder Gareth Andrew is expected to miss Worcestershire’s LV= County Championship Division One match against Somerset which gets under way at New Road tomorrow (11am).

Skipper Daryl Mitchell revealed Andrew has a bad back and is likely to be replaced by all-rounder Joe Leach for the County’s third match of the campaign.

Andrew was ruled out for the majority of last season with a serious back problem.

The news of Andrew’s injury setback is a blow for Worcestershire because he started the season with a flourish, taking 5-85 and scoring 59 in a 10-wicket loss against reigning champions Yorkshire.

Andrew also hit 70 and bagged 3-73 in the first innings of Worcestershire’s 61-run defeat against Sussex at Hove.

Mitchell said: “I think Gareth is going to miss out because he has got a bad back. I can only say he will miss the Somerset game — I don’t know the extent of the problem because that’s in the hands of the medical staff.”

He added: “Gareth has made a good start to the season with wickets and runs so it’s disappointing that it looks like we will lose him for Somerset. But we have a ready-made replacement in Joe Leach, who is a very capable performer and a good option for us.”

Worcestershire and Somerset occupy the bottom two places in the Division One table after losing their opening two games.

Somerset were beaten by seven wickets against Durham in their first outing and then crashed to a five-wicket reverse at home to Middlesex in mid-week.

Centuries from Middlesex captain Adam Voges and James Franklin saw the visitors chase down 402 runs to win a remarkable match at Taunton.

Mitchell said: “There are no easy games in the top division but we have 14 games left and I think we need to win four or five matches. We need to get some wins and get into a winning habit.”