“I will help push him” - Ollie Pope gives a major injury update on Ben Stokes

England No.3 batter Ollie Pope has confirmed that the all-rounder and captain Ben Stokes’ injury is nothing too serious, which would be a positive sign for the English fans before they move to the second day of the Lord’s Test.

Notably, Stokes appeared to have a groin issue on Day 1 of the Lord’s Test as he went on to stay unbeaten on 39 at stumps as England were at 251/4 with Joe Root batting on 99 after winning the toss and electing to bat first.

It’s important to note that Stokes’ career has been marred by injuries of late. While he had a knee surgery in 2023, he suffered two serious hamstring tears in the past few months. Despite all of that, he has been able to give his best as an all-rounder.

"Fingers crossed it's nothing too serious and he can do something magic and come back strong. We'll see how he pulls up on Friday. We've got a big Test over the next four days and we've got a big two coming up after that so it's important to try and manage him,” Ollie Pope said in the post-day press conference.

Vice-captain Pope has also assured that Stokes doesn’t push himself to a ridiculous place with his injury, adding that physios and medics will work closely with him in order to push him in the right direction. 

"That's one of my roles, to make sure he doesn't push himself to a ridiculous place with whatever he's dealing with at the moment. I'm sure the physios and medics will work with him to lay out a plan and I'll help push him in the right direction," he added.

Notably, Root, who is batting on 99, is just one run short of his 37th Test century. He received backing from Pope, who reckoned that the star batter shouldn’t have too many nerves overnight. 

"Obviously he'd have loved to have a hundred red (not out), but he's got 36 of them, so I don't think he'll be too sleepless. He'll get his head down,” he stated.

"It would have been nice to see him get it tonight but he'll be looking at the bigger picture and trying to make it a monster innings. Hopefully we can kick on and get 400, towards 500."

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