Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

Kyle Edmund, the British youngster who was set for a Davis Cup debut in the pressurized atmosphere of a World Group semi-final against Australia, was rushed to a hospital for an MRI scan after falling and appearing to injure an ankle in practice in Glasgow.

Reports suggest Edmund, this week ranked world no.100, suffered no real damage. However British captain Leon Smith must fully assess the situation before deciding whether to risk the 20 year-old or remain faithful to regular second string singles player James Ward who United States fans will remember for his determined Davis Cup wins over Sam Querrey in San Diego 19 months ago and John Isner in March.

Ward is in a dismal run, having lost every match he’s played since reaching the Wimbledon third round more than two months ago.  The 28 year-old Londoner flew from another disappointment in the US Open’s first round and stepped down several levels to play a Challenger tournament in the South of France at St. Remy. He was comprehensively beaten 6-1,6-4 by the Belorussian Ilya Ivashka, ranked the world’s 430th best player.

Leading British player Andy Murray and the rest of the British team looked on as Edmund was carried to the dressing room for treatment and the full extent of the injury will be determined by medical staff today.

Smith was quoted as saying Edmund was fine, while a Lawn Tennis Association spokesperson for the British team added: “Kyle hurt himself a little bit during training. We’ll know more tomorrow but it doesn’t look too bad.”

Earlier Smith said of Edmund: “Kyle is a very level-headed guy and on his ranking he deserves a chance. He’s spent a lot of time around Andy and therefore learned a lot from him.

“From his very early days he was clearly a lad who was bit special and he’s waited patiently. However it’s a big step up to play best-of-five sets against Bernard Tomic Hewitt or even Thanasi Kokkinakis who is younger but higher ranked.

“Kyle has had a really good year, a solid year. However a lot of the school of thought seems to be he is maybe too inexperienced for something like a World Group semi-final against somebody like Lleyton Hewitt but you have to start to somewhere and that’s why he is potentially going to get a run out.

Smith added: “James needs to try to build some self-belief and it’s not easy just to turn on the tap and start performing with a lot of confidence. “I know a lot of people talk about James having Davis Cup history and the fact he can walk on and be a top class player but you still need to come in with some form. It was important he had a good week in France.”

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.