England’s Matt Prior (left) talks to Jos Buttler during a training session before today’s first Test against India at Trent Bridge cricket ground in Nottingham, England yesterday.

AFP/London

England captain Alastair Cook was “99% sure” Matt Prior will be fit to face India in the first Test at Trent Bridge today after the wicketkeeper’s injury scare.

Prior suffered a thigh injury while training on Monday but, with England having called up one-day international Jos Buttler—uncapped at Test level—he took part in training at Nottinghamshire’s Trent Bridge headquarters yesterday.

“We’re 99% sure that he’ll be fine but we’ll have a little check in the morning just to make sure,” Cook told reporters after practice. “But all things at the moment are looking good.”

Earlier, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Twitter: “Jos Buttler called into the England squad as cover for Matt Prior, who experienced some mild tightness in his right thigh yesterday (Monday). “... will continue to be assessed during training before a decision is made about his fitness for the 1st Investec Test.”

Prior had been struggling with Achilles problems ahead of the recent two-Test series at home to Sri Lanka, which England lost 1-0.

Before that series there had been calls for Lancashire gloveman Buttler, at 23 nine years younger than Prior, to be given a Test debut after he’d impressed for England during the preceding one-dayers against Sri Lanka which included his 121 off 74 balls at Lord’s.

But both Buttler himself and the England management said he needed to become more consistent with both bat and gloves in first-class cricket before he got a Test chance.

So far this season in the first-class County Championship, Buttler has scored 491 runs at 40.91 with one hundred and four fifties.

Prior was recalled to the Test side for the Sri Lanka series after being dropped following the third Test against Australia in Perth.

He made 86 in the first innings at Lord’s but struggled behind the stumps in the second Test at Headingley, where Sri Lanka won by 100 runs to claim their first series victory on English soil.