LONDON: England Test captain Ben Stokes faces at least three months out after tearing his left hamstring during the tour of New Zealand, team management announced on Monday.

The 33-year-old all-rounder had already been ruled out of next year’s Champions Trophy one-day international tournament in Pakistan and the preceding white-ball tour of India.

Further assessments have since revealed the full extent of the injury, with Stokes set to undergo surgery in January, said an England and Wales Cricket Board statement. Stokes suffered the injury while bowling during the third Test against New Zealand in Hamilton last week.

Stokes did not bat in the second innings of that match as England slumped to a 423-run defeat—a result that meant his side still won a three-match series 2-1.

“Something else to overcome...go on then!!!!!!!! I’ve got so much more left in this tank and so much more blood, sweat and tears to go through for my team and this shirt,” Stokes wrote on social media.

“There’s a reason I have a Phoenix permanently inked on my body.”

Stokes previously missed this year’s home series against Sri Lanka and the first Test in Pakistan after tearing the hamstring on the same left leg in August.

England’s next Test is at home to Zimbabwe in May. They will then host a five-match Test series against India starting in June before their pinnacle 2025/26 Ashes tour of Australia. — AFP