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Jofra Archer has been really unlucky in regards to his fitness. The England spearhead has not been able to play regularly, with injuries continuously ruling him out of action. Archer last played international cricket more than a year ago. Since then, the right-arm quick has been struggling to recover from the elbow injury that ruled him out.
Archer was recovering well and was expected to make a comeback sooner. However, the 27-year-old has once again been ruled out with a lower back stress fracture. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) informed on Friday that the Sussex pacer has been ruled out of action and there is no certainty on when he will make a comeback. “
“After being diagnosed with a stress fracture to the lower back, England and Sussex seamer Jofra Archer has been ruled out for the rest of the season. No timeframe has been set for his return,” said the ECB in a statement.
Someone with so much talent and calibre missing games due to fitness issues irks fans, former cricketers, and even the cricketer himself. Archer unable to play at the highest level has left former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen disappointed and he has expressed his concern over the pacer playing long-format cricket again.
Pietersen, in the latest interaction with Betway Insider, has said that he feels horrible for Archer and is worried if the pacer will be able to make the level of recovery required to sustain in the longest format of the game.
“It’s terrible news for poor Jofra Archer that he’ll miss the whole summer. He’s shown moments of brilliance for England and other teams and it’s just a horrible blow for him. It’s difficult to imagine him recovering from this to play long-form cricket again, that’s the horrible reality. Hopefully, he can still carve out a top-level white-ball career,” said Pietersen on Betway Insider.
Archer’s injury follows a pattern: Pietersen
The former English batter also talked about the injury sustained by Archer and how it follows a pattern. “His stress fracture to the back follows a pattern of these injuries being sustained by England bowlers. I do think that the number of sports scientists can complicate things far too much. When I was playing, fast bowlers used to bowl a lot of overs in the nets and got bowling fit,” the former England cricketer added.