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'If I don’t get this right, I won’t play any cricket': Jofra Archer willing to take time to heal elbow injury
The paceman had the operation on Friday and his recovery will be reviewed by his consultant in four weeks, at which point Archer will receive further guidance about when he can start bowling again, the England and Wales Cricket Board said.
England seamer Jofra Archer is set to miss another month of action after having surgery on a long-standing right elbow injury. Archer last played in the T20I series against India in March before being ruled out the ensuing ODI series and the Indian Premier League. England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are trying to manage injury sustained by one of the top bowlers in world cricket.
The paceman had the operation on Friday and his recovery will be reviewed by his consultant in four weeks, at which point Archer will receive further guidance about when he can start bowling again, the England and Wales Cricket Board said.
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That timeframe means Archer is sure to miss the two-match test series against New Zealand starting June 2, which was already confirmed, and the three-match Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka starting June 23.
A three-match one-day international against Sri Lanka starts June 29 and another three-match ODI series, against Pakistan, begins July 8. England’s most high-profile series of its international summer comprises five tests against India starting Aug. 4.
Archer has also commented on the injury in his column for The Daily Mail. Archer has maintains that he wants to take time during his recuperation as doesn't want to risk injury in the future. Archer also sent an ominous warning about his career saying that if he doesn't get his surgery right then he 'won’t play any cricket'.
“The way I am looking at things is that I would rather miss a few weeks of a year so that I have a few more years in my career. I just want to get this injury sorted once and for all and that’s why I’m not looking that far ahead or at dates for a return to action — because if I don’t get this right, I won’t play any cricket. Period. I am not going to do myself any good by coming back before I’m fully fit, so I will take my time and do what is best for me and my life,” Archer wrote.
“One thing I am determined about post elbow operation is not to rush my comeback because my primary focus is to be playing for England in the Twenty20 World Cup and Ashes later this year. Those are my targets. If I come back before then and manage to play in the home Test series against India — then fine, so be it. If I don’t, I am quite prepared to sit out the summer,” Archer continued.
“With any injury, if there are other ways around curing the problem you would usually try them — this is no different. When you have an operation, you are altering the body. You are going into a perfectly fine piece of tissue and when you do so, you can invite all sorts of complications. The intention might be to solve one thing, but it can mess up others. One example is that it creates scar tissue so you must be prepared to deal with everything that comes with that. In contrast, having injections doesn’t change much,” Archer explained.
Archer had to pull out of the Indian Premier League because of the elbow injury and then felt pain in the same area bowling for Sussex in an English County Championship match last week.
(with agency inputs)
