England assistant coach Graham Thorpe has blocked suggestions from outspoken player-turned-commentator Kevin Pietersen regarding the team’s treatment of Jofra Archer.

Pietersen’s exclusive with the Daily Mail – ‘If English cricket keeps going behind Jofra Archer’s back, we might lose him for good’ screamed the headline – has been played down by those inside the camp.

‘On the inside we feel we’ve managed Jofra well,’ said Thorpe.

‘We want to look out for him because he’s very important. It has been tough for him over the last couple of weeks. Bowlers do get injured and you have to accept it. That’s why you want a strong squad.

‘We’ve coped well after a tough ride early on and it looks now as though we have a fully fit squad, which is great.

‘We want Jofra to be fit and firing and we feel we handle him well. It’s as simple as that.’

Archer is expected to return to the England side for the fourth Test against South Africa, which starts at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Friday.