England’s Jofra Archer to miss Ashes and rest of summer after recurrence of elbow stress fracture | Cricket News

England bowler Jofra Archer will miss The Ashes and the rest of the summer after suffering a recurrence of a stress fracture to his right elbow.

Archer has not played a Test since March 2021 and only returned to international cricket earlier this year after an absence of nearly two years, owing to elbow and back injuries.

The 28-year-old will now spend time with the England and Sussex medical teams, who the ECB say will work on his injury management.

ECB managing director Rob Key said: “It has been a frustrating and upsetting period for Jofra Archer. He was making good progress until a recurrence of the elbow injury, which kept him out for an extended period previously.

“We wish him the best of luck with his recovery. I’m sure we will see Jofra back to his best and winning games for England, whatever the format. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.”

Archer returned early from the Indian Premier League last week due to discomfort in his troublesome right elbow, the England and Wales Cricket Board confirming that Archer had been “pushing through the discomfort” while playing and it had proved “challenging”.

Olly Stone also faces several weeks on the sidelines after injuring his hamstring on duty for Nottinghamshire.

The ECB also released a statement on Sunday confirming England and Lancashire seamer James Anderson has sustained a mild strain to his right groin, but he was then named in the 15-man squad for the Test match against Ireland on June 1.

Warwickshire seamer Chris Woakes returned to the Test squad for the first time since March 2022, while Mark Wood is back in the squad.

Test captain Ben Stokes, meanwhile, has sent down just one over for Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing Indian Premier League, with the franchise’s head coach Stephen Fleming saying, “Ben’s ability to bowl overs at the moment is still a bit of a challenge”.

England squad

Ben Stokes (Durham) Captain, James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).

When is The Ashes?

Stokes will lead England for the first time in an Ashes series, with the hosts looking to regain the urn for the first time since 2015, and – after a four-day Test against Ireland – it will all begin at Edgbaston on June 16.

The series will then move on to Lord’s (June 28-July 2) and Headingley (July 6-10), the scene of Stokes’ 2019 heroics, before finishing at Emirates Old Trafford (July 19-23) and The Kia Oval (July 27-31).

Watch every match from the men’s and women’s Ashes live on Sky Sports. You can also follow videos and over-by-over text commentary across Sky Sports’ digital platforms. Live coverage of the first Test is live from June 16-20 on Sky Sports Cricket.