Ben Stokes: “Hopefully in a week or two it will be good to go”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been nursing a back injury in the lead-up to and during the ongoing Test series against New Zealand, but how long does he think it will take for him to make a full recovery?

Stokes revealed that he has been working towards solving the problem and believes it will take about a week or two before he is back to full fitness. In the meantime, he has been forced to bowl off a shortened run-up.

Stokes did not bowl during the first Test in Auckland, but he did bowl six overs in the first innings of the second Test in Christchurch.

“It’s been frustrating. I had a few injections into an injury I had when I was a kid,” Stokes told Test Match Special as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. “At the same time it’s getting slowly better. It’s a patience game, a day-to-day thing. Hopefully in a week or two it will be good to go.”

Stokes added that he has been working with bowling coach Chris Silverwood to alleviate the pressure on his back while bowling.

“I’m working [on my] alignment, it’s more a long-term plan,” he said. “I think if I can cancel out my dip-in, which obviously loads my lower back where I’ve had the pain recently, that will do me good in the future.

“When I was looking at my paces off that [short run-up] I was bowling as fast as I normally do. I don’t think I’ll resort to that short of a run-up but it proves to me that I don’t need to over-try. Sometimes I’ve been guilty of that.”