Stokes hints at return as England prepare for WTC27 action
The England Test captain is recovering from a broken cheekbone injury that has kept him out of action in the ongoing County Championship.
England skipper Ben Stokes is eyeing a return to competitive action in May. Having copped a blow during a training session in February, Stokes has conceded he was lucky the nature of his injury wasn’t too serious.
"Pretty nasty but, funnily, probably the best result of a bad situation, to be honest," Stokes said in an interview with the ECB.
"I copped one straight in the face. Just a couple of inches one way or the other, I might not be here doing this interview, if I didn't turn my head round.
"All things considered, although I had pretty major facial surgery to sort it out - it was a bit of a mess under here (cheekbone) - I've got out quite lucky. So pretty thankful for that.”
Stokes has missed the beginning of the ongoing County Championship season, delayed owing to his ongoing recovery.
The premier all-rounder however, feels he’ll be back in action just in time to shape up for England’s blockbuster home series, which will feature ICC World Test Championship series against New Zealand and Pakistan.
"It obviously set everything back about a month, with getting back to where I wanted to be to play at the start of the season for Durham.
"I just had to sort of quickly go back to the drawing board and put a plan together to get me ready to play a couple of games for Durham before the Test summer starts,” he added.
England will next feature in a three-match Test series against New Zealand, beginning June 4 at Lord’s.
Having suffered a 4-1 loss at the hands of Australia in their last Test series Down Under, England sit seventh in the ongoing WTC Standings.
