England speedster Jofra Archer will want to forget 2021 as he is set to miss the West Indies series due to an elbow injury. Archer already sidelined from the ongoing Ashes was expected to come back for the West Indies tour but now has been ruled out. The player will undergo a second elbow surgery in this year and will look forward to script a comeback in 2022.
"Jofra Archer underwent a second operation on his injured right elbow on Saturday, December 11, in London,” an England Cricket Board (ECB) statement read in a statement released on Tuesday (December 21).
“The procedure addressed the long-standing stress fracture of his right elbow.
“A return to cricket will be determined in time, but Jofra will not be available for any of England’s remaining winter series.”
The Barbados-born bowler was a key member of England’s World Cup victory in 2019. The injury will only renew frustration as the speedster will miss the three-Test match series against West Indies. The 26-year-old has been out of the team since March of this year, and his latest setback will see him spend a few more months on the causality table.
England are missing their star player as they were without the trio of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Archer in the opening Test. But despite the return of Anderson and Broad, there was no change in fortune for the English side as they lost both Brisbane and Adelaide Test. As things stand Joe Root’s side trail the Aussies 0-2 and now face an daunting task of winning the Ashes.
Archer’s presence in the team could have sparked a change in the result for the English side, but now they will be without the World Cup winner. The English side have also suffered massively in the World Test Championship Table (WTC) as they sit second from the bottom with only six points from six games. They will next be in action on Boxing Day (December 26) as the Aussies will try to clinch the Ashes in the third Test.