Archer ‘devastated’ after bowler is hit by fresh injury woe

Jofra archer faces more World cup heartbreak after being ruled out indefinitely with a stress fracture of the back. The 27-year-old is understood to be devastated by the news that he will not play this season and with england’s build-up to this year’s Twenty20 World cup starting in September with a seven-match series in Pakistan, it appears inevitable that he will once again miss out on trying to help eoin Morgan’s team unite world cricket’s white-ball belts. The Sussex fast bowler, who last played for england 14 months ago in India, had hoped to be fit for the previous World cup in the Uae last autumn but broke down in his comeback from a long-term elbow injury. archer was preparing to play in two or three of Sussex’s eight second-team Twenty20 fixtures before the Blast campaign begins against Glamorgan next Thursday — only for his injury jinx to strike again. Last week during training, he felt a twinge in his lower back, which was checked out as a precautionary measure. Subsequent scans over the past few days highlighted the problem and the ecB confirmed his latest sidelining yesterday morning. ‘No timeframe has been set for his return. a management plan will be determined following further specialist opinion over the coming days,’ a statement read. archer, who shot to stardom with his performances in england’s maiden World cup win in 2019, has been dogged by injuries for more than two years now. he has undergone three bouts of surgery in the past year: one on his hand to remove a shard of glass, and two on his elbow. a more conservative approach to his comeback — archer has now missed england’s last 15 Tests — appeared to be working when he hooked up with his international team-mates in Barbados in both January and March and continued to be pain free when bowling in the nets. Mumbai Indians were confident enough in his rehabilitation to sign him for £780,000 in this year’s Indian Premier League auction — with a view to him featuring in 2022 and 2023. Inevitably, though, there will now be questions whether his body is up to the demands of first-class cricket.