LONDON, (Reuters) – England’s Ben Stokes will be sidelined for around three months after breaking his finger while playing for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), England and Wales Cricket Board say (ECB) yesterday.
Stokes had an X-ray and CT scan on Thursday, which had revealed the extent of the damage, an ECB statement said, adding that he will fly home for surgery in Leeds on Monday.
England’s two home Test series against New Zealand begins on June 2, making Stokes highly unlikely to be fit in time. He is likely to be unavailable for the white ball international against Sri Lanka in June.
However, he should be reinstated for the five-Test series against India, starting on August 4.
“It’s a big blow but it’s not the end of the world because Ben Stokes would have needed rest in this difficult scheduling year anyway,” former England captain Nasser Hussain told Sky Sports on Friday.
“But Ben Stokes gets bored very easily and won’t want to miss any cricket. But Ashes is coming up with T20 World and iconic series v India, so it’s a bit of a rest and getting him mentally and physically fit for a lot of cricket ahead of him. ”
Stokes, who was listed as the second best rounder in the world, suffered the injury while trying to catch deep West Indies batsman Chris Gayle in the IPL match against Punjab Kings.