DURHAM'S disappointment at losing to Worcestershire yesterday was compounded by an injury that could sideline their star batsman, David Bedingham, for a number of weeks.

Despite having got themselves into what looked like a winning position at lunch on the third day at Chester-le-Street, Durham's bowlers let Worcestershire off the hook as they eventually suffered a six-wicket defeat.

To make matters worse, Bedingham has suffered a muscular problem that is likely to rule him out of action for a number of weeks.

The South African is Durham's leading run-scorer this season, and his absence for a prolonged spell would be a major blow.

“I would have thought that David Bedingham will be in the cotton wool basket for a while," admitted Durham head coach Ryan Campbell. "He is going for a scan, the physio’s first thought is that it could be a nick of the tendon which is something we’ve seen with Stan McAlindon and he’s been out for six to eight weeks.

"Fingers crossed it’s not as bad as we think and that he’ll be okay, firstly for South Africa as that’s the priority for him, but so we can see him again in the T20 Blast and County Championship.”

Campbell was left bitterly disappointed by Durham's failure to press home the advantage they established when they claimed a 78-run first-innings lead.

They were dismissed for just 152 second time around, and that proved insufficient as Worcestershire rallied from 65-3 to eventually finish on a winning total of 231-4.

"I’m probably as disappointed as I’ve been since I’ve been at the club," admitted Campbell. "There is no easy day in this competition and that’s the beauty of it.

“We had our opponent on their knees and we just couldn’t deliver the knockout blow.

"You’ve got to give credit to Worcestershire as they’ve been through so much over this year. For them to band together and find a way to come back and win, you’ve just got to take your hat off and say congratulations."