Sussex are keen to bring in a batsman on loan to get their faltering season back on track.

The county suffered a double blow yesterday when a six-wicket defeat to Somerset was followed by the news that Mike Yardy will be ruled out for longer than first anticipated.

Yardy was initially expected to be sidelined for a month with a torn bicep muscle suffered in the NatWest T20 Blast defeat at Glamorgan at the end of last month.

The former England all-rounder will now be sidelined for up to eight weeks after Sussex confirmed he would undergo surgery today.

With Luke Wells also likely to miss next week’s clash with Yorkshire at Arundel due to a side strain suffered at Taunton yesterday and possibly the following week’s trip to Durham, it has left Sussex’s already depleted batting resources even further stretched.

Assistant coach Mark Davis said: “We are certainly looking into all the options as we are slightly under the pump at the moment.

“We have been looking for a while. If you look at Yards being injured and (Matt) Prior joining up with England we will have to look.

“Wellsy is struggling a little bit too so we will have to see who is around and who could do a job for us but it is not that easy.”