England seamer Jofra Archer will resume his England comeback trail with the desire to represent again at the Test level. The player is “invited to a winter training camp” by the ECB this month with the intention to enable his comeback in the Test side after multiple injury setbacks.
A report in the Daily Mail stated on Saturday (September 10) that Archer is nearing his return to the field and could potentially resume “gentle bowling” via this camp. The report, however, mentioned the board and its medical staff will not be rushing the rehab process with the seamer.
Still, there is a sense of optimism within the ECB regime and the selectors that Archer could be seen playing for England sooner rather than later.
Archer has been extremely unfortunate to have gone down with successive major injuries over the past year and a half.
The 27-year-old last turned out for England in March 2021 via the T20I series against India. He missed the ODI leg of three lions’ all-format trip owing to resurfacing of an elbow injury that he picked up via a freak accident during fish feeding in a tank at home.
The injury was so severe it required him to undergo surgery since the player needed to remove a tendon in his hand. The cricketer then skipped England’s entire home summer and also their winter assignments and could only resume his rehabilitation at the start of 2022.
The process overseen by the ECB medical staff and doctors was going on smoothly, and Archer was deemed ready for a return with the limited-overs leg of the home season this year versus India and South Africa.
But just when the pacer was scheduled for an England return in June, he picked up a stress fracture in his back and was ruled out of the entire summer and also the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Archer could, however, be ready to take the field again by the close of the year, provided he has no further setbacks. There is no exact date set for his comeback, but ECB could send the pacer for a training camp with the rest of the Test squad in Abu Dhabi. The camp will partly be a gathering with the England Lions side.
From Abu Dhabi, the Test squad will travel to Pakistan for the three-Test series in December, while the ‘A’ team players will depart to Sri Lanka for a planned series in early 2023.
