Jofra Archer is set to miss a significant portion of the English season after a decision to operate on his troublesome right elbow.
Having seen a specialist on Wednesday, the decision was taken for Archer to undergo surgery on Friday. Although the ECB is reluctant to put any timeframe on his return - or go into any detail about the exact nature of the operation - it is understood England have not given up hope of him playing some part in the Test series against India, which is scheduled to be played in August and September.
The England management hope that by dealing with the issue now, Archer will be free to play a full part in the T20 World Cup and the Ashes, both of which are scheduled to be played at the end of the year.
"At the moment, he has a bit of an impingement in his elbow," England's bowling coach, Jon Lewis, told the Guardian. "A lot of fast bowlers get it in their ankle, so it's comparable but a different part of the body. Put a lot of pressure and flexion through any joint, it will take a bashing. But bowlers come through ankle impingements. I don't foresee it being a long term major issue.
"From what I understand, either short-term or long term, his elbow will recover. I would expect him to play a lot more international cricket for England. This is just a small blip on his journey."
The issue with Archer's elbow first came to prominence when he was forced to pull out of the New Year Test in Cape Town at the start of 2020 and was subsequently diagnosed with a stress fracture. Since then, he has managed six Tests in which he has claimed 12 wickets at a cost of 40.16 apiece. He was also obliged to withdraw from the recent IPL season.
Archer was heavily bowled in the first few months of his international career. He played a huge part in England's World Cup win - he was their highest wicket-taker in the campaign, bowled the most overs and required a pain-killing injection before delivering the Super Over in the final - and, only weeks before the stress fracture was diagnosed, had bowled 42 overs in an innings in a Test in Mount Maunganui. Little more than a week later, he bowled 40 more in the Hamilton Test.
This will be the second bout of surgery Archer has undergone within a few weeks. He had a fragment of glass removed from a tendon in his hand in March sustained in an accident while attempting to clean a fish tank.
England had hoped that rest and cortisone injections would avoid the need for surgery on his elbow, but when he experienced a recurrence of pain during his first game back for Sussex, it became apparent a different approach was required.