Broad fine after being struck by stray golf ball on day off

(Reuters) - England pace bowler Stuart Broad saw the funny side of things after being struck by a stray golf ball during a day off at the Brisbane Golf Club on Monday as his team eased fears that it would affect his Ashes preparation.

Broad was working on his putting when a wayward shot by a club member hit his lower back but the 31-year-old played down the incident by posting a picture of his bruise on Instagram while smiling to the camera.

"**WARNING** Graphic Image. Golf ball bruise. If you look really hard you can see it," Broad wrote in the caption, before an England spokesman confirmed that the pacer was not seriously hurt ahead of his sixth Ashes series.

"He is fine and no dramas. The ball hit him on his lower back," the spokesman said.

England face Australia in the first test at the Gabba in Brisbane starting on Thursday.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Clare Fallon)