England fast bowler James Anderson has admitted that the absence of Ben Stokes from the third Test with Pakistan will be "a big loss" for the team.

Stokes was ruled out of the upcoming match after tearing a calf muscle during the second Test at Old Trafford last week as England levelled the series at 1-1 thanks to a career-best 254 from Joe Root.

"[It was] really positive the way we came out of that Old Trafford Test and unfortunate that we lost Ben Stokes in that game to injury but, all in all, just a really strong team performance," Anderson told Sky Sports News.

"He's a big loss, he just adds that balance to the team. He can come in at six and him being able to bowl plenty of overs does add that healthy balance to the side.

"But we've played without him before and coped without him before so we're going to have to do that this week. Hopefully he'll be well on the road to recovery and play at The Oval."

The third Test gets underway at Edgbaston on Wednesday morning.