Jofra Archer, England 's World Cup winning pace superstar, has been ruled out for the entire season to continue his shocking run of injury problems.
Cruelly this time it is a stress fracture of the back that has left him 'gutted' and on the sidelines once more when he had been hoping to make his international return in white ball cricket later this summer. Archer has been battling with a chronic elbow problem for three years playing only intermittently as the pain was attempted to be managed.
Archer ended up having two bouts of surgery on the elbow in a bid to sort out the problem once and for all, and with a lengthy period designed to ease him back into cricket it was hoped this year would see a return to his all conquering form of 2019. But instead the 27-year-old once again faces an uncertain future as his body reacted badly to an increase in his workload.
The Sussex paceman is one of the fastest and most dangerous bowlers in the world which is why Mumbai Indians took a punt on securing his services in the last IPL auction even though they knew he wouldn't be available for this season. His skills were worth locking in as an investment for subsequent tournaments.
But his career now looks to be at a crossroads with another period of rest and rehabilitation on the cards before he can resume. And once he is fit again there will be huge concerns over whether he will be able to play all formats with the demands that places on the body.
Archer is committed to Test cricket, and new England captain Ben Stokes would love to see him charging in with a red ball in hand like he did during the 2019 Ashes, but that now looks like the longest of long shots. Even a return to T20 and ODI cricket is a way off for the Barbados-born speedster.
With Mark Wood, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson, Saqib Mahmood, Matt Fisher and Sam Curran all unavailable at present, England's bowling stocks are looking increasingly thin on the ground, and this new blow to Archer will sadden teammates and fans alike.
Archer had been bowling in Barbados with the England teams on both their white ball and Test tours to the Caribbean and looked to be nearing full fitness once more, which is why this latest setback is such a cruel blow.
Archer has managed to play in just 13 out of 36 Tests since his debut against Australia and it is hard to see when he might play a 14th now.
