Ben Stokes has been ruled out of action for a period up to 12 weeks after a repeat X-ray and CT scan done on April 15 revealed a fracture of his left index finger.
Following the confirmation of fracture, Stokes who is in India for the 14th edition of IPL will head back to England and will undergo surgery on April 19.
Notably, Stokes had injured his hand while attempting to catch off mishit from the bat of the Punjab Kings batsman Chris Gayle. He was ruled out of the tournament the next day but the extent of his injury was not clear.
“England all-rounder Ben Stokes will be out for up to 12 weeks after a repeat X-ray and CT scan on Thursday revealed that he has a fracture of his left index finger. Stokes, who is currently in India with Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, will fly home tomorrow. He will have surgery in Leeds on Monday,” the ECB said.
Stokes’ injury has come as a killer blow to the Rajasthan Royals who are already without Jofra SArcher for the first half of the IPL 2021.
The finger injury and subsequent surgery will also put him out of the Test series against New Zealand which he could have missed anyway if his IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals would have made it to the final rounds of the tournament.