WORCESTERSHIRE all-rounder Wayne Parnell is making encouraging progress with his rehabilitation programme after suffering a shoulder injury at the end of last summer.

Parnell has been given the green light to resume back-to-bowling drills after returning to his native South Africa for the winter.

The County’s Kolpak signing sustained the setback during the final County Championship match against Sussex at Hove in September when bowling during the hosts' first innings.

He was diagnosed with a torn shoulder muscle after undergoing a scan and seeing a specialist.

But the 30-year-old did not require surgery and has spent the last two-and-a-half months undergoing rehab.

County head of sports science and medicine Ben Davies said: “Wayne is rehabbing really well in South Africa.

“He has started early back-to-bowling drills. I’m confident he will be fit for the first Championship game (of 2020).”

Parnell initially joined the County for a spell during the 2018 season before signing a three-year contract until the end of the 2021 campaign.