Picture Credit: Twitter/@ECB
England pacer Jofra Archer has had a tough time in last few months due to his troublesome right elbow. After missing the IPL 2021 due to the same problem, the pacer finally made the much-awaited return on the field of cricket during County Championship. However, his comeback was cut short as he once again aggravated the elbow injury. As a result, he had to visit medical consultants and it was decided that a surgery was the only way out for Archer to recover from his long-standing injury.
Archer's progress to be reviewed in four weeks
The England Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed that Jofra Archer underwent a surgery on his right-elbow last Friday. It was also revealed that the pacer will now commence an intensive rehabilitation period working with the ECB and Sussex medical teams to ensure a speedy recovery. "His progress will be reviewed by his Consultant in approximately four weeks at which point further guidance will be provided as to when he can return to bowling," said ECB in an official statement.
England pacer likely to miss first Test against India
As the medical teams will review Archer's state of fitness after four weeks, the 26-year-old will need some time in the nets to get back to competitive cricket. Considering the fact that England would want one of their best fast bowlers to be available for 2021 T20 World Cup followed by the much-awaited Ashes, it is expected that ECB will be in no hurry to get Archer back into the side.
With his comeback series not yet confirmed, the fans might have to wait for some time with ECB taking a much more cautious route this time around. With England having bowlers like James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran etc. within the ranks, it is very unlikely that they will risk Archer for the first Test against India, starting on August 4.
While there is a huge possibility that Archer might miss the entire Test series against India, it will be interesting to see if ECB opts to get him back on the field for any match later in the series.