ENGLAND have suffered a devastating injury blow with Ben Stokes set for surgery and a huge lay-off – but the star has vowed to come back stronger.
The Test captain, 33, has been ruled out for at least THREE months after tearing his left hamstring.
Stokes picked up the problem in England’s 2-1 Test series win against New Zealand.
The legendary all-rounder was bowling on Day Three of the Third Test when disaster struck.
A statement from England Cricket confirmed: “England Men’s Test captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out of all cricket for at least three months after further assessments confirmed he has torn his left hamstring.
“The Durham all-rounder will undergo surgery in January.
“The injury occurred during the third Test in Hamilton, during England’s recent 2-1 Test series victory in New Zealand.”
It’s not the first time Stokes has suffered the exact same injury either.
He tore his left hamstring in August while starring in The Hundred.
But he has vowed to come back with an X-rated message.
He wrote on his Instagram stories: “Something else to overcome…go on then!!
“I’ve got so much more left in this tank and so much more blood, sweat and tears to go through for my team and this shirt.
“There’s a reason I have a Phoenix permanently inked on my body. See you on the field to f*** some shit up.”
It is now hoped that surgery will stop the problem from recurring in the future, with an operation on his knee a year ago seemingly working.
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Stokes had already not been picked for the upcoming clashes against India by England boss Brendon McCullum.
He will also miss out on starring for South African side MI Cape Town in next month’s SA20.
But Stokes will be hoping to return in time for England’s Test against Zimbabwe in May.
Speaking after picking up the injury against New Zealand, he said: “Obviously, I was incredibly disappointed walking off.
“I was very emotional about the whole thing. You’re asking yourself: ‘Could I have done more? Should have done this, should have done that?’
“But you know, when you sleep on it, and you take the emotion out of it, you realise you’re always putting yourself at risk of an injury.
“I worked my a*** off to get to where I was in this game in particularly with my body. It’s just sod’s law – the first time in a while I feel like I’m young again, something happens.
“I worked really hard to get myself into position to play the role that I did this game. It’s just one of those unfortunate things. But nah, I ain’t holding back.”
