Archer in battle to be ready for Sri Lanka tour

England paceman flies home from South Africa Mahmood will join next month’s T20 squad

Jofra Archer will undergo intensive treatment in an attempt to be fit for the Test series against Sri Lanka in March after being ruled out of the rest of the tour of South Africa. Archer left South Africa on Tuesday to have his right elbow injury assessed after it failed to respond to treatment over the past month. He has not played for England since the Boxing Day Test and suffered a relapse on the morning of the Wanderers Test last week just when it looked as if he had regained fitness.

He is now likely to have the joint scanned again to determine if there is any structural damage. Previous scans have shown up inflammation, but nothing serious, however the swelling has not gone down and he is still in pain when he bowls.

Archer was already being rested for the one-day international series against South Africa that starts on Tuesday, but had been selected for the Twenty20 series that follows as England begin to build in earnest for the T20 World Cup in October.

His place will be taken by Saqib Mahmood, who was a part of the ODI squad and will stay on for the T20 leg that concludes the tour.

Archer’s injury problems are a concern for England, who will have to monitor his workload. England fly to Sri Lanka on March 2 for two Tests and they may now delay naming that squad until the end of the South Africa tour on Feb 16.

Last week Archer bowled quickly in the nets at the Wanderers to put himself in contention for the fourth Test. But he was ruled out on the morning of the match when he broke down in the warm-up with a recurrence of his elbow injury.

He looked distraught when the medical staff told him he would not be playing. He was then a frustrated spectator as Mark Wood made the most of the quickest pitch in South Africa to take nine wickets.

Archer’s injury, known in the game as fast bowler’s elbow, is a sign of his body struggling to adapt to the workload of five-day cricket. He has bowled a lot of overs in his seven Tests since making his debut against Australia at Lord’s last year. He bowled 40 overs in Hamilton in December and 42 in one innings in

Setback: Jofra Archer missed the last Test after breaking down in a warm-up