IN eight years of playing, this is the first time that I’ve been injured – I know that getting injured is part of sport but I’m pretty gutted about it.

In the Twenty20 game against Glamorgan, I went to hit a reverse sweep and just felt something pop in my groin and lower stomach. I tried to carry on for the next three balls but it just hurt too much.

Unfortunately, it’s a pretty bad one. I’ve torn a muscle and it looks like I’m going to be out for six to eight weeks.

I’ve been resting at home this week, just watching television and playing a lot of FIFA, and I’m due back in today to talk to the physios and the doctors about my rehab.

It’s going to be tough sitting out the next few months but hopefully the boys can do all right without me and I can be back at the end of June.

There’ll still be three months of the season left and when I come back, hopefully I can help the challenge in a promotion push and also for a couple of trophies.

We did lose the game against Glamorgan but we’re not at panic stations because it is just one game of cricket.

I think that we were a little bit rusty because it was the first game of the season but there are plenty left. We only need to finish in the top four to qualify for the quarter-finals and I’m sure that we can do that.

We are going to have to learn to win games without (Dimitri) Mascarenhas. I’m injured, so is Sean Terry and Carbs (Michael Carberry) will be away with with England too.

But Owais Shah is a very good signing for the club – he’s got a great pedigree in all forms of the game, especially Twenty20, and I think he’s going straight into the side for the game against Sussex on Friday night.

Hopefully, by the time you read this, we’ve managed to get the win over Leicestershire in the four-day competition.

Worcestershire were struggling a little bit against Essex too so if that result has gone our way, we could be clear at the top of the table by 20 points or so.

Winning more games at this stage of the season means that you don’t have as many to try and win at the end, so this good start is massive for us.