Tough Times: ‘It Was a Horrible Place to Be…’: Chris Woakes Opens Up on His Painful Shoulder Injury During The Oval Test

England all-rounder Chris Woakes had sustained a serious shoulder injury on the first day of the Oval Test against India. It occurred when he tried to stop a boundary, but instead ended up slipping and landed reckllessly on his shoulder. Woakes was visibly in a lot of pain and was soon taken off the field by the physio.

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It was later revealed that the 36-year-old had dislocated his shoulder and was thus, ruled out of the entire match. However, with England restricted to 357/9 while chasing the target of 374, Woakes made an incredibly courageous decision and came out to bat. Though the Three Lions eventually went on to lose the match by a slender 6-run margin, Woakes' heroic act earned him praise from the Indian players as well.

Woakes has now opened up about what he felt when he fell on his shoulder and also revealed the reason why he ended up slipping on the outfield while saving the boundary.

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“The outfield was wet from the rain, almost greasy, and my hand slipped as I landed and my full body weight went through my shoulder. I heard a pop and knew I was in trouble," Woakes said in an interview with The Guardian.

“The pain came on pretty quickly and my arm was just hanging there. It was grim and my thoughts were racing. ‘Is it game over? Is it career done?’ It was a horrible place to be. We got it into a makeshift sling with my jumper and got off the field," he added.

Woakes and Gill shared positive words with each other

Woakes also revealed that India captain Shubman Gill was left very impressed with him for being brave and coming out to bat even after dislocating his shoulder. The two also shared positive words with each other as the match concluded.

“Shubman said something like: ‘That was incredibly brave.’ I told him: ‘You’ve had an unbelievable series, well played, and credit to your team.’ Both sets of players had been through the mill in the series and deserve credit for the show we put on. Both teams wanted the win, of course, but it does kind of feel fair that it was drawn,” Woakes stated.

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Meanwhile, Woakes can very well go on to miss the Ashes as well due to his dislocated shoulder. England's five-match Test tour of Australia is set to commence from November 21 and it is unlikely that the all-rounder will be able to fully recover by that time.