Jofra Archer ruled out of English Summer due to injury

England's Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the English Summer owing to another injury. The pacer is suffering from a stress fracture on his lower back. He had been previously suffering from a long term elbow injury, which has kept him away from competitive cricket since 2021.

According to the England Cricket Board (ECB), the timeframe of his return cannot be established at this time. According to the report, other expert opinions will be sought in the following days. "After being diagnosed with a stress fracture to the lower back, England and Sussex seamer Jofra Archer has been ruled out for the rest of the season. No timeframe has been set for his return. A management plan will be determined following further specialist opinion over the coming days," said the ECB in a statement on Thursday (May 19).

Archer has not played for England since the T20I series in India in March 2021. He's had three surgeries in the last 14 months, one on his hand to remove a piece of glass, and the other two to treat his elbow. The 27-year-old trained with England in the West Indies earlier this year as part of his recovery. He was also set to make his Sussex comeback against Glamorgan later this month.

There were hopes that he may be able to play some T20 cricket for England before the end of the season, but the recent injury has ended that possibility. Notably, Archer is the third England bowler to be diagnosed with a stress fracture in the last week, following the diagnoses of Lancashire's Saqib Mahmood and Yorkshire's Matthew Fisher.

Rob Key, England's director of men's cricket, said that the loss of numerous bowlers due to injury is an issue that must be addressed. "It's definitely a concern and trying to find out why this is happening is something that we need to look into and make sure, hopefully, it never happens again," Key was quoted saying by Sky Sports.