England fast bowler Jofra Archer has been ruled out of all forms of cricket in 2021 due to the recurrence of a stress fracture on his right elbow. The Barbados-born cricketer will miss the ongoing Test series against India, the IPL, T20 World Cup and the Ashes down under.
The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed the news through a statement they released on Thursday. This same elbow injury had seen Archer miss a couple of Test matches in India. He featured in the five-match T20I series in India before skipping the three ODIs in India due to the same reason. A hand injury and the nagging elbow niggle saw him miss the first half of the IPL.
The Barbados-born fast bowler did return to County cricket back in May but he aggravated the elbow injury. Hence, that ruled him out of the two-match Test series at home earlier this home season.
Archer was on the road to recovery, and he featured in a couple of games for Sussex (one T20 Blast and Royal London One-Day Cup warm-up game). However, the latest scans have revealed that the stress fracture has recurred on his right elbow, and he will subsequently miss all cricketing action in 2021.
This is a massive blow to England. Archer has been their premier fast bowler across formats for a couple of years now, but injuries have constantly pegged him back in the recent past.
England are already without Chris Woakes, who is recovering from a heel injury, while Ben Stokes has taken an indefinite break from cricket to tend to his mental health.
