England Test captain Ben Stokes will be sidelined for at least three months after tests revealed a torn left hamstring, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Monday.
All-rounder Stokes, who missed four Tests after tearing the same hamstring in The Hundred domestic competition in August, sustained the injury in the third Test of England’s 2-1 series win over New Zealand last week.
“Something else to overcome…go on then!”, Stokes wrote on his X account.
“I’ve got so much more left in this tank and so much more blood sweat and tears to go through for my team and this shirt. There’s a reason I have a Phoenix permanently inked on my body.”
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The 33-year-old all-rounder bowled 24 overs in New Zealand’s first innings and was two balls into his 13th over of the second when he suffered the injury — a much heavier workload than in the first two Tests.
“The Durham all-rounder will undergo surgery in January,” the ECB added in a statement.
England’s next game in the longest format is a one-off Test against Zimbabwe in May before a five-match home series against India in July and August.
(inputs from Reuters)