England are facing fitness woes ahead of the fifth Test against India, slated to be held in Manchester from September 10.

The hosts suffered a 157-run defeat in the fourth Test to concede a 2-1 lead to India and they are now looking to avoid a series defeat.

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However, things are not looking too bright for England as there are question marks over the fitness of pace spearheads James Anderson and Ollie Robinson. The duo has played all four Tests and shared a heavy workload of more than 96 overs between them at the Oval.

With two days to go for the Old Trafford Test, England skipper Joe Root said that they will weigh up the fitness of Anderson and Robinson before taking a call.

"These two days are really important for recovery, making sure they're in a position to play Test cricket," Root said on Wednesday (September 8).

"I think one thing you have to do is trust the medical advice that's been given, speak to the guys that understand the science behind this and also speak to the players as well that know their own bodies better than anybody else," he added.

"You never want to go into a Test match playing someone under risk of injury. You want to make sure you do the best thing for the player but you also don't want to go into a Test match and someone go down injured and you've got one less bowler at your disposal," he further said.

Root also confirmed that Jos Buttler, who missed the fourth Test for the birth of his second child, would return as England's vice-captain and wicketkeeper. It means either Jonny Bairstow, who kept wicket at the Oval, or middle-order batsman Ollie Pope will be benched in the fifth Test.

The Test skipper asked his troops to lift their game in high-pressure moments against Virat Kohli's men.

"Within this series there have been half-an-hour periods in the game where we've not managed it as well as them and it's really cost us and we're sat 2-1 down instead of potentially 3-0 up," he said.

Root, who has smashed three centuries in the series so far, said it was down to individual batsmen to step up.

"Can you be the one to go and make that big score and to really put us in a position of strength, be part of a really big partnership?," Root asked.

"It just takes that one person to go on and do it," he said. "It can very quickly spread like wildfire, feed into the rest of the group so hopefully that can materialise this week," he concluded.

(With AFP inputs)