New Zealand pace bowler Shane Bond is set to miss the first Test against England starting on Thursday at Lord's.
"We haven't picked the side yet but logic would suggest he's not quite ready for the first Test and will continue his progress towards the second," team manager Lindsay Crocker said on Monday.
Bond is working his way back to fitness after suffering a stress fracture of the lower back last May.
Bond did not bowl on Sunday in the second innings of New Zealand's nine-wicket loss to Kent at Canterbury. He took one for 77 off 16 overs in the first innings.
The second Test at Headingley begins on June 3, with the third and final Test starting at Trent Bridge on June 10.
