England Test captain Ben Stokes has nicknamed himself the “Bionic Man” after undergoing his latest hamstring operation.
Stokes tore his left hamstring during England's final Test in New Zealand in December and will miss at least three months of cricket, ruling him out of consideration for ICC Champions Trophy in February.
The 33-year-old sat out four consecutive Tests, three at home against Sri Lanka and one in Pakistan, after tearing the same toe playing in The Hundred in August – last year
Stokes took to Instagram on Tuesday to confirm he had gone under the knife, posting a photo of himself sprawled on the back seat of a car supported by a large leg brace and pillows.
In the caption, he wrote “Bionic Man for a while” alongside a smiley emoji and signed it “in a bit…”.
England are not due to return to Test action until May 22 when they begin a four-day match against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge.
They will then play India in five Tests later this summer, starting at Headingley on 20 June and finishing at the Kia Oval from 31 July.
Where Stokes plays with the ball going forward will be interesting with his latest hamstring issue coming amid his 37th of the match against New Zealand, although he later said he would not he has no plans to slow down.
“I'm not holding back,” he said at the time. “Every stop, I come back stronger. There's no doubt I'm going to walk out of here … and get myself back to where I was. That's my job.”
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Sky Sports Cricket's Nasser Hussain says England have been let down by captain Ben Stokes' inability to bowl and there needs to be a discussion about his workload
Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain said in December: “There has to be a long-term view and understand that England are the side they are because of their captain and they are greatly diminished, both by manager and leader, if they don't – it isn't. there
“If he's not in Australia (for the 2025/26 Ashes), England's chances fall off a cliff. Part of leadership is talking to someone and saying, 'we need you'.
“Pump up his tires and make him realize that England are a better team when he can do all sides. I thought 37 goals was a big workload after returning from such an injury.”
Watch ICC Champions Trophy live on Sky Sports from February 19. England's first match is against Australia on February 22.
