LONDON: All-rounder Ben Stokes has given England an injury scare around one a month before the high-profile ICC Champions Trophy after sustaining a grade-one muscle tear in his right shoulder.
The 25-year-old incurred the damage during his first over in Rising Pune Supergiant’s three-run victory over Mumbai Indians at the IPL last Monday.
The left-hander went on to return figures of 4-1-21-2 at the Wankhede Stadium, a show that earned him a second man-of-the-match award in three IPL games.
The New Zealand-born Stokes missed Wednesday’s defeat to Chris Woakes’s Kolkata Knight Riders and he will also be absent for the coming visit of Royal Challengers Bangalore.
There remains an outside chance Stokes will return on Monday to face Gujarat Lions, although he may only play as a batsman to avoid aggravating the problem.
The ECB medical staff have been kept abreast of the injury and are likely to urge caution so close to the Champions Trophy.
England’s first match is on June 1.
Stokes, Woakes and Jos Buttler, of Mumbai, are all on extended stays in the IPL and will return home on May 15 to join the 15-man squad’s pre-tournament getaway to southern Spain.
Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2017
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