England Test captain Ben Stokes has revealed a significant facial injury after being struck by a cricket ball.
The all-rounder posted a striking image on Instagram, showing his right eye heavily swollen and bruised, alongside a graze on his cheek and lip, and a bandage stuffed into his nose.
Stokes light-heartedly captioned the post: "You should see the state of the cricket ball."
The 34-year-old recently returned to England following the dismal Ashes tour, which concluded last month with a 4-1 defeat.
His position remains under scrutiny amid an ongoing ECB review into the series.
The post-mortem continues, with England coach Brendan McCullum claiming some of the fallout has been "out of order".
England had travelled over to Australia with optimism high that they could secure a first Ashes win Down Under since 2010-11.
However, Stokes’ men lost the first three Tests as Australia retained the Ashes within 11 days.
England did pick up a consolation win in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, but slipped to another defeat in the series finale in Sydney.
Stokes endured a miserable series with the bat, averaging just 18.40 across 10 innings, although he fared better with the ball, taking 15 wickets at an average of 25.13.
Stokes’ captaincy was also called into question, with some pundits critical of his bowling changes and field placings, while the all-rounder also admitted after the series that he had made some big mistakes along the way.
England’s off-field antics also sparked controversy, with a mid-series trip to Noosa attracting headlines amid reports of a drinking culture within the England camp.
Now back in England, Stokes is expected to potentially feature for Durham in the early County Championship rounds, if his facial injuries are not too serious, before England’s Test summer kicks off against New Zealand at Lord’s on 4 June.
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