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Ian Whyte has added to England's injury worries ahead of their European Championship qualifying clash with Switzerland tonight.
The Newcastle Eagles centre, who scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds in England's friendly defeat in Portugal on Sunday, missed a training session with a trapped nerve in his chest.
Captain Steve Bucknall has returned to practice following a groin strain picked up in Greece while playing for London Towers.
England coach Laszlo Nemeth said: "Ian is our back-up centre and will line-up for us only if we are desperate with Andy Betts only to play. Steve has an incredible will to play and will do everything he can to be available."
The game in Switzerland is a must-win for an England side in fifth place in Group A having won just two of their first five games.
The Swiss journey brings back terrible memories for Nemeth's men - it was Switzerland who upset England in Sheffield last November to kick off the campaign.
England bounced back with wins in Slovakia and Latvia, but then suffered a last-minute home defeat by Croatia before losing in overtime in Hungary.
Tonight’s game marks the return of 6’ 7” Belgium based forward Roger Huggins, who is available for an away international for the first time in two seasons.
The game also sees the European Championship debut of 6’ 8” American-born forward Tony Dorsey, who received his clearance to play for his adopted country during the summer.
Dorsey, a two-time MVP of the British Basketball League who won three championships with Birmingham and Manchester, is now playing for Hapoel Jerusalem in Israel.
He is also playing alongside Bucknall, a long-time rival in England, for the first time.
"He's a competitive player and so am I," said Dorsey. "Today in practice was the first time we'd played together, but we've started to get an understanding. Steve is the kind of player that makes the game easier for everyone around him."
Forthcoming fixtures:
Saturday 25th November 2000 England v Slovak Republic
Wednesday 29th November 2000 England v Latvia
Wednesday 24th January 2001 Croatia v England
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