Jofra Archer to miss T20 World Cup, Ashes due to elbow injury

England fast bowler Jofra Archer has been ruled out of all competitions for the rest of the year as the scans revealed a stress fracture on his right elbow. As a result, Archer will not just miss the Test series against India but has also been ruled out of the T20 World Cup in the UAE and the Ashes series in Australia.

Archer has already missed a few matches during the tours of India and South Africa last year.

He returned to action after an operation on his elbow in the County Championship, but the injury only got worse for him. He did not bowl on the final two days of the County game against Kent as a result. "Jofra Archer underwent further scans on his injured right elbow last week. The scans revealed that he has suffered a recurrence of a stress fracture of his right elbow," ECB said in a statement.

"In response to these findings, he has been ruled out for the rest of the year and will miss the current Test series against India, the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 and the Ashes series in Australia."

"The 26-year-old, who had an operation in May to remove a bone fragment from his elbow, returned to play last month. As part of his return-to-bowling programme, he became aware of increasing discomfort in his elbow during matches for Sussex in the Vitality Blast and a 50-over friendly against Oxfordshire. The operation is not related to the stress fracture that sidelined the player previously. He will now spend time on an extended break from cricket before returning for a medical review in early autumn," further read the statement from ECB.

The England fast bowler was not named in the Test series against India as he hoped to be fit for the T20 World Cup and the Ashes.  "One thing I am determined about the post-elbow operation is not to rush my comeback because my primary focus is to be playing for England in the Twenty20 World Cup and Ashes later this year," Archer wrote in his column on Daily Mail in May. 

This news also shuts the door on his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 return in September. He was Most Valuable Player (MVP) last season, having picked up 20 wickets for Rajasthan Royals (RR) last season. 

The 2019 World Cup winner has represented England in 13 Tests, 17 ODIs and 12 T20Is to date.