Harry Brook admitted Ben Stokes’ injury ‘doesn’t look good’ following Northern Superchargers’ win over Manchester Originals in The Hundred and it appears like the England captain will miss part or all of the upcoming Test series with Sri Lanka.
The Superchargers cruised to a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over the Originals but the match was largely overshadowed by Stokes’ injury, which forced the 33-year-old to retire hurt after scoring just two runs.
Stokes, who was opening the batting for the away side, pulled up while sprinting for a quick single and was clearly in some discomfort at Old Trafford.
After the contest, Stokes was pictured using crutches and the Superchargers confirmed that the Durham all-rounder was being assessed for a hamstring problem, putting his participation in England’s three-match Test series versus Sri Lanka in serious doubt.
Stokes underwent surgery on a long-term left knee injury in late 2023 and had just started bowling again for England.
‘It doesn’t look great, unfortunately,’ Stokes’ England team-mate Brook, the captain of Superchargers, told Sky Sports shortly after his team’s win.
‘I think he will getting a scan tomorrow [today] and yeah, we’ll see how he is.’
Former England skipper Michael Atherton, providing punditry on The Hundred for Sky Sports, said it appeared ‘extremely unlikely’ that Stokes would be available for the opening Test against Sri Lanka, starting on August 21.
‘The way that he gripped the back of his leg looked like hamstring to me, which may well be a significant period out,’ Atherton said.
‘But it might not be a structural problem so fingers crossed it’s that and that it’s not as bad as it initially looked and that he can play some part in the Test series.
‘But it looks extremely unlikely that he’ll be able to play here in ten days’ time.’
Stokes played all three Tests of England’s recent Test series with the West Indies, scoring three half-centuries and taking four wickets.
Should he be deemed unfit to face Sri Lanka, England’s vice-captain, Ollie Pope, would likely take over the reins as skipper for the interim period.
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