Ben Stokes ruled out for three months with recurrence of hamstring tear

In a major development for England cricket, the side’s Test skipper, Ben Stokes, has been ruled out of every form of cricket for three months following a recurrence of his torn left hamstring during the third Test against New Zealand last month.

It is worth noting that Stokes was forced to leave the field on day 3 of the third Test between England and New Zealand. Furthermore, he tore the same hamstring that got injured in August while playing for Northern Superchargers against Manchester Originals in the men's Hundred.

The extent of his injury was confirmed by the ECB; it was also confirmed that Stokes would be omitted from England’s squad for the Champions Trophy 2025. The board also stated that he had not been considered on medical grounds, having not played 50-over format since their elimination from the ODI World Cup 2023 in India. 

After his injury, Stokes also took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and shared his thoughts on the injury, revealing that he cannot wait to get back on the field. “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,” Stokes tweeted.

Also Read: England squad for Champions Trophy 2025 announced

Have to work much harder on the physical side: Stokes

Recently, the Durham all-rounder had come forward and admitted his willingness and drive to get back to full fitness. Before the Test in Hamilton, Stokes talked about how he has started to understand his body better.

"I have to work so much harder on the physical side of the job to allow me to go out and do my job, but I got a good amount of overs in during the last two games, and I am more confident about getting through a lot of spells in a day,” Stokes was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"That is where I got to before I pulled my hamstring. I bowled nicely in the summer, had a setback, but now feel out of that and not worrying about anything else happening again. As you get older you think about your body a bit more but I work harder because I have to,” he added.