Ben Stokes' comeback from injury delayed? Colossal update arrives

England captain Ben Stokes is on track to recover for the upcoming tour to Pakistan. England will travel to Pakistan in October followed by a Test series against New Zealand to round off the year.

England play at least eight more Test matches till the end of the year. Stokes unfortunately has been ruled out of the summer after tearing his hamstring two-and-a-half weeks ago while playing for Northern Superchargers in the Hundred.

He was ruled out for the rest of the summer but has been with the England squad during their ongoing series against Sri Lanka, and has been batting in the nets at Lord's ahead of Thursday's second Test.

England will be reaching Pakistan on October 2 for the Test series that starts on October 7 with the first Test in Multan. Previously they won a Test series against Pakistan in 2022 with Ben Stokes bowling 35 overs in the series. A return to full fitness ahead of this tour would be a significant boost to their chances.

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Slowly Progressing: Ben Stokes

He gave an update of his fitness which the ECB released on their official Twitter handle. Stokes described his return as "scratching an itch" on Tuesday.

"I'm all good, just slowly progressing. It's still very early days in the rehab period… I want to get back as quick as I possibly can, so being around the medical team here with physio and doctors, I thought that was going to give myself the best chance of getting back sooner rather than later," he said in an ECB video.

Ollie Pope who is leading England in the Test series against Sri Lanka said that Stokes will be "as fresh as anyone" heading into their winter tours to Pakistan and New Zealand.

"He's obviously still a fair while away off playing, and he's not trying to play as a batter and a first slip - just yet, anyway. But it's been great to see him. Injuries are never ideal, but they're also great chances for people to keep improving their game and have a little bit of time of reflection and think about what he can work on in his game. I'm sure that's exactly what he's doing in the nets. Going into that Pakistan series and then into New Zealand, he's going to be as fresh as anyone."

Alongside Stokes, Zak Crawley is also targeting to return to the England Test side with the series against Pakistan. He was ruled out of the Test series with a broken finger. However, he visited his England teammates on Tuesday with his broken little finger in a split.

Meanwhile heading into the second Test against Sri Lanka, Mark Wood was ruled out due to a thigh injury. This allowed Ollie Stone to make a comeback into the England Test side after three years.

"He's obviously had a tough time, and has injuries that unfortunately fast bowlers can just get, especially when they bowl up to 90mph. I'm really excited for Olly to get the opportunity to pull that shirt back on.

"I know how hard he's worked and I know how hard it is being injured for such a long period of time," Pope said about Wood praying for his speedy recovery.

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