Ashes 2021-22: Ben Stokes likely to miss the series due to second surgery on finger

Talismanic England all-rounder Ben Stokes has yet again undergone surgery on his broken finger. After undergoing surgery four months before, this is the second instance of surgery on his injured finger. The recent surgery will also likely rule him out of The Ashes series, which is scheduled to begin Down Under on December 8. Earlier, the England all-rounder had taken an indefinite break from cricket to address mental health issues. Stokes also missed the five-match Test series against India and the ongoing Indian Premier League.

The England Cricket Board (ECB) were optimistic about Stokes’s availability for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup and the subsequent Ashes series Down Under but the recent surgery to his index finger has cast a doubt over his participation in the Ashes series. Stokes picked up this untimely injury during the first leg of IPL while playing for Rajasthan Royals (RR).

“Leeds based consultant Doug Campbell, who also performed the first surgery back in April, took the screws out of Stokes’ healed finger on Monday and resolved the scar tissue that had been causing the agonizing pain around his tendons and ligaments,” Daily Mirror reported.

The report also mentioned how the 30-year-old’s broken finger will look far better and how he would be able to play the sport without chronic pain in near future. But Stokes won’t be able to make a comeback anytime soon.

Ben Stokes shares an Instagram post in which his finger is bandaged

The England all-rounder also shared a post on his official Instagram account with his wife on Wednesday (October 5), in which his index finger is bandaged.  For a brief while, Stokes returned to action playing for his County side Durham in the T20 Blast in June. Later he also was named captain of the England team for their limited-overs series against Pakistan, in which he led a second-string side to a 3-0 victory in a three-match ODI series.

 

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A post shared by Ben Stokes (@stokesy)

It was after white-ball games against Pakistan that Stokes decided to take a break from the game.  Currently, Stokes is in England and won’t be part of the team for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup which is scheduled to begin on October 17 in Oman and UAE.