England pacer Jofra Archer is set to see a specialist for his elbow injury this week amidst reports of him likely to miss the whole summer, including T20 World Cup and the Ashes.
England’s 2019 World Cup-winning hero has been struggling with injuries for a couple of years, and his woes do not seem to be getting any lesser. The fast bowler is due to meet a specialist this week amidst the reports that he could miss the whole cricket summer.
On Tuesday, a leading English daily reported that Archer’s entire summer could be doubtful, including the T20 World Cup in October followed by the Ashes at the year-end due to a setback in his rehabilitation from an elbow surgery that was done on May 21.
The Mirror Sports reported that the pacer is set to
“Meet specialists in the next 48 hours as Archer is struggling to regain his fitness. The issues in his joint are more severe than had been anticipated and could lead to further surgery”.
Soon after the reports made rounds, Jofra Archer responded in his usual style and rubbished the rumours.
Earlier this year, the 26-year-old had to return home from the tour of India after his elbow injury aggravated during the five-match T20I series and also forced him to withdraw from the IPL 2021.
After a period of rehabilitation and rest, he returned to action in May and played in a second XI match and a County Championship fixture, but could only bowl 18 in the latter. In the following week, he underwent surgery on his elbow on the advice of a specialist.
Archer spent two months on his recovery under the watchful eyes of the Sussex and England medical team. He returned to action in mid-July, playing a T20 Blast game and a 50-over fixture, where he bowled nine overs in total. Archer has not yet joined his team Southern Brave in The Hundred and is set to meet a specialist to find out the severity of the matter.
Archer was not selected for the first two matches of the India series, starting on August 4 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. With the County Championship next round not starting until August 30, Archer won’t have many opportunities to play red-ball cricket to prove his fitness for the last three Tests. However, the pacer had conceded previously in his column that he’s quite prepared to sit out of the India series to get fully fit for the T20 World Cup and the Ashes.
