Injured Ollie Pope set to return in mid-November

Young English sensation Ollie Pope suffered an unfortunate shoulder injury in the recently concluded Ashes 2023 and courtesy of the same, the top-order batter was ruled for the last three matches of a thrilling series. As things stand, the 25-year-old is on the road to recovery and will be fit to return to action in mid-November. 

Notably, Pope underwent surgery in July to fix his dislocated shoulder. When he returns back to action, the cricketer will be playing a couple of white-ball matches in order to get ready for England’s next red-ball assignment against India in the subcontinent. Meanwhile, Pope confirmed that he is feeling much better and needs three to four months before making his return to professional cricket.

“The shoulder is as good as it can be at this point. I had surgery a couple of weeks ago now, I'm happy to get past that and I've got another three or four months of recovery to get it right,” Pope was quoted as saying by The Cricketer.

“I'll be fit and available for selection from the middle of November, so whoever picks me for what I'll take it on and hopefully get some cricket in before that India tour in January,” the Middlesex-born cricketer added.

Meanwhile, it’s still unclear if Pope will get any game time ahead of the five-match India series, which is slated to begin on January 25 in Hyderabad. In 2022, the cricketer participated in the International League T20, Big Bash League and in the inaugural edition of the SA20. However, with his injury concern this time around, it will be interesting to see if the teams show the same enthusiasm to have him on board.

If not, it might get difficult for Pope to get a hang of red-ball cricket. He has played four Test matches in India so far, scoring only 153 runs and thus, he will be aiming to get better this time around. Playing against the Rohit Sharma-led side without enough game time can prove to be costly for the cricketer.