Jofra Archer has opened up about his recent injury struggles, with the England quick revealing he was left in a "dark place" and wondered if he was ever "going to play cricket again".
Archer has not played for England since March last year after struggling with a long-term elbow problem, having been forced to undergo multiple operations in a bid to fix the injury. After the first operation, Archer was forced to abort a comeback after the injury flared up, with the 27-year-old playing just three games for county side Sussex before being sidelined once again.
He underwent a second operation in December and has gradually stepped up his recovery, training alongside his England teammates during their recent Test series against the West Indies. However, having been out of action for so long, Archer has admitted there were times when he felt his career could be over.
In a column for the Daily Mail, Archer wrote: "In a situation like this, when you are forced to have operations, you do think about whether you are going to play cricket again, whether you're going to play all formats even. But the ECB gave me the assurance and peace of mind that they wanted me around for a long time.
"Having gone into a dark place last summer after the first op, I can see why when people are not on the good side of situations like this they sometimes have a downward spiral in terms of mental health.
"It's natural for anyone to worry about the future in that kind of situation, but not having to chase a contract gave me the time to rest properly. Suppose I had rushed my comeback, I might have messed things up more or injured something totally unrelated to what I had done previously and then I would be even further down the pecking order.
Archer is set to return to action in Sussex's T20 Blast opener against Glamorgan on May 26, but will feature in some T20 matches for the second XI first. "As for Test cricket this summer, I simply haven't thought that far ahead," he added.
"I've not had any prompts from anyone, telling me I'm a one-format player as yet. I still want to play everything, but my first task is the Blast and if I don't play that properly, then I won't be able to play Test cricket.
"I am not setting ambitious targets just yet. All I want is to stay on the park for a full year without any more setbacks. I am aware there is a Twenty20 World Cup this coming autumn but I just want to be out there, having a good run.
"I am not even putting pressure on myself to pick up where I left off. I don't need the stress. After being out for so long, I am simply looking forward to seeing what happens."
