Jofra Archer travelled to Belgium earlier this month reportedly for a minor surgery on his right elbow. While his quick return to IPL action does augur well, concerns will remain about how much he can be involved in this summer’s Ashes.
London’s Daily Telegraph has reported that Archer had a “minor procedure” on his right elbow during his brief recent lay-off in the IPL. He previously underwent two operations last year on the troublesome elbow and was having discomfort after playing in Mumbai’ Indians’ opening match against RCB on April 2, which resulted in him missing their next four games. Head coach Mark Boucher had described it as “a little niggle”.
Archer played against Punjab Kings on Saturday night — where he appeared to be pain-free and reached speeds of 90mph — but didn’t feature in the XI against Gujarat Titans on Tuesday.
Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians’ captain, said at the toss that Archer was “not well” but is expected to return against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday night.
Archer missed almost all of last year because of the elbow issue and a stress fracture in his lower back.
While the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed to the Daily Telegraph that Archer had been to see his specialist in Belgium “a few weeks ago”, the fast bowler has hit out in a strongly-worded tweet.
“Putting out an article without knowing the facts & without my consent is crazy. Whoever the reporter is shame on you , an already worrying and troubling time for a player and you exploit it for your personal gain, it’s people like you that are the problem,” Archer tweeted.
The Daily Telegraph report said Archer visited Antwerp to see Roger van Riet, a specialist elbow surgeon who also operated on another England fast bowler, Mark Wood, last year. Archer’s workload is being carefully monitored by the ECB and Mumbai Indians’ medical teams.
He returned to England duty for the limited-overs series in South Africa in January, and Bangladesh in February. Doubts remain about whether he will be able to play red-ball cricket but the ECB are hopeful that Archer will play a role in the Ashes, which begins on June 16.
Archer has said that playing just one Ashes Test this summer would be a “bonus” but England are desperate for him to be more involved. They are hoping to have one out-and-out pace bowler in each of the five Tests, with Mark Wood and Olly Stone their other 90mph options.
The minor setback is “what you expect when you’ve been off for a long time: the body’s not going to be 100 percent straight away,” Archer was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo last week.
“There are going to be moments where it feels a lot more serious than it actually is... I just want to focus on feeling good at the minute.”
