Olly Stone ruled out for two weeks with recurring back injury

08/07/2019

England pacer Olly Stone suffered an injury while training and has been sidelined for at least the next two matches of the ongoing Ashes series against Australia. The youngster had a chance to play in the next match against Australia but the blow has effectively ended any such hopes of his.

England suffered yet another setback on Tuesday after budding pacer Olly Stone suffered from a lower back injury while training. The 25-year-old had made his debut only last month against Ireland where he had picked up three wickets and was leading the race to make the lineup for the second Ashes Test match starting from August 14.

"It's really disappointing for Olly that he's been ruled out of action for such an important two weeks of cricket because of a recurrence of his back injury," said Paul Farbrace, Sport Director at Warwickshire, reported Sky Sports.

The first test had ended in an embarrassing 251-run defeat for the hosts and with it came the injury to James Anderson ruling him out for quite some weeks. With Jofra Archer still recovering from an earlier strain and Mark Wood not completely fit following a blow he received in the World Cup final, the news about Olly Stone has placed England in a worrying situation.

"At the moment there's a bit of inflammation but he will undergo a scan later this afternoon so that we know the full course of treatment that he can undertake with the club's medical team and with the support of the ECB. In the meantime, he needs to rest up before he can get his body strong again and ready to deal with the demands of being a fast bowler,” Farbrace added.

Stone is expected to return by the start of the fourth test, though it might be too late by then for him to wriggle his way into the playing XI.