England bowler Chris Woakes has admitted that he is desperate to move on from a "nightmare" year which has been blighted by injury as he made his comeback for his country in the one-day international series warm-up win over Hong Kong.
Woakes bowled six overs in the victory in the United Arab Emirates after being troubled by a foot injury and the recurrence of a previous knee problem during rehabilitation.
Although he returned for three ODIs against Australia at the end of the summer, he was not fit enough to feature in the Test series, and he admitted his relief as he begins to return to full strength.
"The last nine months have been a bit up and down with injury," he told BT Sport.
"You can never take playing for England for granted. It has been a bit of a nightmare of a summer, but I am really excited about the series coming up [against Pakistan].
"My body feels in as good nick as it has done for a long time. Fingers crossed, I look forward to staying on the park now. I hope that the big injuries that I have had are completely behind me. You are always bowling through the odd niggle, so you just get used to it."
The 26-year-old has missed eight ODIs in total since last winter's World Cup, but he will be hoping to feature when the first of four matches against Pakistan takes place on Wednesday.
Tom Nightingale
