Ben Stokes shares first picture after undergoing knee surgery

Ben Stokes had been struggling with his left knee for quite some time. It also stopped him from bowling since the second Ashes Test at Lord's Cricket Ground, earlier this year.

The veteran all-rounder had previously stated that he would go under the knife after the competition of the ODI World Cup 2023. On Wednesday, November 29, Stokes posted a picture of himself on his Instagram account, standing with the help of crutches, and in the caption, he confirmed that he underwent surgery.

"In and out
Under the [knife emoji] done.
Rehab starts now," Stokes mentioned in the caption.

The 32-year-old came out of retirement to play in the ODI World Cup. The defending champions had a forgettable campaign as they finished seventh on the points table out of the 10 teams that participated in the marquee event. Stokes played as a specialist batter and scored 304 runs in six games at an average of 50.66.

Ben Stokes opts to skip IPL 2024

The experienced campaigner recently made himself unavailable for the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League to manage his workload and fitness. He was subsequently released by his team, Chennai Super Kings, on the player retention deadline day.

Chennai acquired the services of Stokes for a whopping INR 16.25 crore in the 2023 auction. However, he could play just a couple of games, scoring 15 runs and bowling one over. After releasing England's red-ball captain, the five-time champions have got a massive boost in their purse and will be able to use that in the auction for the upcoming season on December 19.

Meanwhile, Stokes will now try to get fit in time for England's five-Test series against India that will run from January 25 to March 11, 2024.

"I've put a lot of hard work in away from cricket to give myself the best chance of a quicker recovery and, with Christmas and everything coming up, the main thing for me is getting this knee right and being ready and raring to go for that Test series in India," Stokes had said after England's last game at the World Cup.