Archer Ashes fears grow after England star has fifth elbow surgery in two years
Fears over Jofra Archer's potential involvement in this summer's Ashes have grown after it emerged the England quick had minor surgery on his right elbow earlier this month.
It is the fifth time he has had surgery on that elbow in just over two years, with the 28-year-old flying to Belgium during the IPL to go under the knife. Archer made a successful return to international cricket at the start of the year, starring for England on their white-ball tours of South Africa and Bangladesh.
However, after featuring in the Mumbai Indians' IPL opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore, he missed their next four games with what was called a "little niggle" by head coach Mark Boucher.
In that time, Archer flew to Belgium to visit specialist Roger van Riet, who operated on Mark Wood last year after he injured his elbow during England's Test series against the West Indies.
The Telegraph reported Archer underwent a 'minor procedure' and he returned to action for the Mumbai Indians on Saturday and showed no real signs of discomfort as he took 1-42 against the Punjab Kings.
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Archer admitted last month that he does not expect to feature in more than one Ashes Test this summer and downplayed the severity of his latest elbow issue in an interview with ESPNcricinfo ahead of his return to action in the IPL. "Obviously the last two weeks aren't exactly what you would hope for after being so fully active," he said.
The ECB have confirmed Archer travelled to Belgium "a few weeks ago" where he underwent another operation on his right elbow (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)"But it's what you expect when you've been off for a long time: the body's not going to be 100 percent straight away. There are going to be moments where it feels a lot more serious than it actually is.
"I'm just trying to put myself in the best position possible [to play]. To be honest, I still want to bowl fast and stuff - but when you feel good, you bowl good. I just want to focus on feeling good at the minute."
England captain Ben Stokes has already revealed the extra pace of the likes of Archer, Wood and Olly Stone are crucial to his plans for the Ashes, telling Sky Sports : "Having the option to bowl above 90mph, any captain wants that. We've been clear with the ground staff what type of wickets we want and they have been responsive. We want flat, fast wickets."
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