England paceman Archer to have hand surgery

Paceman Jofra Archer is set to have hand surgery on Monday and has received a further injection to manage his ongoing elbow injury, England cricket chiefs have announced.

Archer, 25, left England’s tour of India after the Twenty20 series as a result of pain in his right elbow, which ruled him out of two Test matches earlier in the trip.

A medical consultation determined an operation would not be necessary at this stage but the fast bowler will go under the knife to correct an issue that dates back to January and had not previously been made public.

The England and Wales Cricket Board said on Saturday that Archer suffered a cut to his hand while cleaning at his home in January shortly before flying to India. The injury was managed by its medical team and did not impact on his availability.

“Jofra Archer will undergo a procedure to his right hand following a scan and subsequent consultant review since he returned to the UK on Tuesday,” said a spokesman for the ECB.

“He has also had a further injection for the right elbow injury that had seen him declared unfit for selection for the current ODI (one-day international) series versus India.

“The procedure on Jofra’s hand will take place on Monday, 29 March so he can recover during the planned break following his elbow injection.”

England and India are level at 1-1 in the three-match ODI series. The home side won the Test series 3-1 and the T20 series 3-2.