WORCESTERSHIRE paceman Kabir Ali is taking a safety first approach to the intercostal injury that has kept him out of the County's last two games.
The England seamer missed his side's 58-run home win over Gloucestershire and has not made the squad which is currently playing Derbyshire at Chesterfield.
However, Kabir feels he is on the road to recovery and has targeted Wednesday's Liverpool Victoria County Championship match with Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay for his return to competetive action.
Yet, he insists if the injury is not fully healed in time for Wednesday's game, it makes sense to miss that match too rather than risking an early end to the campaign .
He said: "Hopefully I will be fit for the game against Glamorgan on Wednesday.
"It is still a bit tender and I need to be careful with it, because if I came back too soon and tore the muscle it would be season over for me.
"The intercostal is a delicate area for a bowler and I have torn that muscle twice before, so I want to make sure it is right before I start playing again.
"We have a massive end to the season ahead of us and I certainly don't want to miss that because of this injury.
"My recovery is going in the right direction at the moment and hopefully it won't be long until I am back playing cricket again.
"I could have played against Gloucestershire but there is no point if I break down and miss the rest of the campaign.
"I sat down with Bumpy (Steve Rhodes) and Vikram Solanki and decided it was best for the team to rest.
"I have always had big injuries when I have been ruled out. It has taught me to be safe rather than sorry.
"I had a goal at the start of the season to get through the summer injury-free, that is my goal every year.
"Unfortunately I have had a few niggles, a couple that I was unlucky with like the ankle problem when I got hit trying to stop a drive in our Pro40 game against Gloucestershire at New Road."
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