England Test captain Ben Stokes has undergone surgery after sustaining facial injuries during a training session with Durham.
The incident occurred while Stokes watched a net session and was accidentally struck by a cricket ball, resulting in damage to his cheekbone, nose, and eye. He has remained positive and has updated supporters from hospital.
Stokes posted a photo of his bruised face from hospital after the injury and captioned it, “You should see the state of the cricket ball.” He kept a light hearted tone after eye surgery and said the operation had gone as planned alongside a new image.
During the net session, 18 year old Robbie Bowman struck the ball that hit Stokes. Durham coach Ryan Campbell said Stokes accepted responsibility for the incident. Campbell said, “Stokesy said he broke the No.1 rule of being a coach in the nets — never turn your back on the batter,” Durham coach told The Sun.
“Robbie hit the ball hard. Players shouted out a warning but Stokesy ended up turning his head towards the ball.”
The warning from players did not prevent the impact and the ball caused significant facial injuries. Campbell said Stokes contacted Bowman from hospital to reassure him. He said, “I’ll tell you this because Stokesy never would. He phoned Robbie Bowman from his hospital and told him not to worry. He’d have known that Robbie would have been beside himself but Ben said it was his fault. That sums up the sort of bloke Stokesy is,” Campbell added.
Stokes’s recovery timeline remains unclear. There is a possibility he could play in the County Championship before England’s three Test series against New Zealand, which begins June 4. He is also recovering from an adductor issue sustained during the final Ashes Test against Australia.
