Tymal Mills will not play any Championship cricket for Sussex until July at the earliest due to a mysterious back injury.

Mills helped the Sharks get their NatWest T20 Blast campaign up and running with victory over Gloucestershire at Hove yesterday.

It was the fast bowler’s first appearance since suffering a recurrence of a back problem during the Championship game against Worcestershire four weeks ago.

Mills, a winter signing from Essex, took career-best figures of 3-30 as the Sharks bounced back from Friday’s defeat at Kent and then revealed he would be focusing on Twenty20 cricket for the foreseeable future.

The 22-year-old, who had been tipped for a potential England call-up for the Ashes this summer, said: “If you had told me ten days ago that I would be playing in this game then I would have laughed because I was still struggling with my back and taking medication.

“I’ve hardly done anything for the last four weeks so to come in and help the team get the win was really pleasing.

“I couldn’t even come off my full run as I need to be really careful. It is a complicated injury and the doctors aren’t really sure what the problem is.

“There is nothing to really compare it to so they’ve come to the conclusion it only happens when I bowl quite a few overs.

“It means I’m going to have to knock four-day cricket on the head for a while. I’m just going to play Twenty20 cricket until July and then perhaps see how it goes in the one-dayers.

“It is gutting not to be able to play in the Championship but I have to count my blessings that I’m able to come in and perform at all.”