Chris Woakes would welcome Alex Hales back into the England fold should the batsman find himself invited to resume training next month.

Woakes was one of 18 bowlers chosen by the England and Wales Cricket Board to begin strictly controlled individual sessions this week, getting under way with an hour-long workout at Edgbaston.

Batsmen and wicketkeepers are due to follow within a fortnight before a final group of limited-overs specialists complete the enlarged playing group that is likely to be required should a condensed summer schedule get the green light to proceed from July.

England’s hopes of playing the first Test against the West Indies on July 8 leave a window of just under seven weeks for pace bowlers to reach full match fitness – a figure that falls short of newly published advice from the International Cricket Council.

The ICC medical advisory committee’s 16-page ‘back to cricket’ document includes the judgement that “Test cricket would require a minimum 8-12 week preparation period” with up to five weeks of ‘match intensity’ bowling.

It notes that “bowlers are at a particularly high risk of injury on return to play after a period of enforced time-out” and suggests the weakening of the spine associated with lengthy periods of downtime can increase the risk of stress fractures.

An ECB spokesman told the PA news agency: “We welcome ICC’s Back to Cricket guidelines and are satisfied with the framework they have implemented for all cricket.

“The ECB will offer further updates in due course.”