“His injury will be reviewed in 7-10 days once it has had a chance to settle”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Scans have confirmed that England all-rounder Ben Stokes suffered a collarbone joint injury when he landed awkwardly on his right shoulder on the first day of the third Test against Pakistan in Sharjah.

Stokes sustained the injury when he was diving to take a catch at short fine leg, upon where he landed heavily on his right shoulder. Initially, there were fears that Stokes has dislocated his shoulder, but that was not the case.

While Stokes will not field or bowl for the remainder of the final Test, he did bat at number 11 in the first innings, but only lasted 10 balls before he was clean bowled by Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik for a duck.

“Imaging confirms Stokes has a collarbone joint injury,” the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a press release. “It has already been decided he will be unable to bowl or field for the remainder of this Test match but if circumstances dictate he may bat. His injury will be reviewed in 7-10 days once it has had a chance to settle. A decision about his return to play will be taken at this time.”

The exact details of Stokes’ injury has yet to be revealed, but should it have something to do with the AC joint, his recovery time is expected to be approximately six weeks, which may affect his participation in the warm-up segment of the upcoming tour of South Africa.