Archer suffers thumb injury, ruling him out of the West Indies ODIs and also throwing his red-ball return in doubt.
Archer suffers thumb injury, ruling him out of England’s Metro Bank ODI series against West Indies next week.
After suffering a right-thumb injury while playing for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, he may not be able to make his anticipated return to red-ball action with the England Lions next month.
The injury was initially incurred by Archer while fielding during Rajasthan’s May 4 one-run loss against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens. Even though it seemed like a small problem at first, more evaluations showed ligament damage, and he did not travel back to India for this week’s resumption after the event was suspended earlier this month.
In order to decide when he may return to action, the England medical staff will reevaluate him over the next two weeks. He was originally included in England’s 16-man squad for the ODI series, which starts at Edgbaston on May 29.
The squad now includes Luke Wood, a left-arm seamer from Lancashire, in lieu of Archer, who was previously selected for the next T20I series in June. Despite playing two ODIs in 2022–2023 thus far, Wood has not yet claimed a wicket in the format.
Archer’s exclusion from the T20I series had suggested that he would likely be included in the second of the England Lions’ two four-day warm-up matches against India in the five-Test series that begins next month.
The first, which takes place at Canterbury from May 30 to June 2, coincides with the ODI series. However, the second, which takes place at Northampton from June 6 to 9, was a reasonable goal for Archer and might have been his first first-class appearance since a May 2021 match for Sussex against Kent.
The first 15-man squad for the two Lions games has since been announced by England’s selectors. James Rew of Somerset will lead the team, and Chris Woakes will make his season debut. Ben Stokes and Archer, who might want for more playing time after recovering from hamstring surgery, are two more names that might be added to the mix.
Archer has struggled with a number of chronic problems since 2021, such as a back stress fracture and an elbow issue that necessitated several surgeries. He returned to England in May of last year, just in time for the Caribbean T20 World Cup. He also played in the Champions Trophy earlier this year, before the IPL.