England all-rounder Ben Stokes undergoes knee operation
Durham man faces six weeks on the sidelines
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Your support makes all the difference.England all-rounder Ben Stokes has undergone surgery on the knee injury he sustained during the first Test against Sri Lanka and will be out of action for around six weeks.
Stokes, 24, tore the cartilage in his left knee while bowling in Sri Lanka's first innings at Headingley last Friday during England's walloping of the tourists.
Stokes will miss the second Test at his home ground, Durham's Chester-le-Street, starting on Friday, the third Test at Lord's and the limited overs action that follows. He will aim to be back in action in time for the first Test against Pakistan in mid-July.
“The surgery addressed a cartilage tear in the 24-year-old's left knee and was undertaken this afternoon,” Durham said on their website. “Full details on the length of his absence and rehabilitation will be confirmed in due course.”
Stokes has become a key player for England, scoring a Test- best 258 in South Africa during the winter tour, the fastest Test double-century by an England batsman. It included an England Test record 11 sixes and Stokes shared a world-record sixth-wicket partnership of 399 with Jonny Bairstow.
His place in the squad for the second Test has gone to Chris Woakes, who marked his recall with figures of 9 for 36 for playing Warwickshire against Durham on Monday.
Another England bowler, Reece Topley, who broke his hand batting in his first game for Hampshire in April, has suffered a new injury setback. “Reece Topley has been diagnosed with a partial stress fracture of the lumbar spine and will require a significant period of rehabilitation,” the England and Wales Cricket Board said on its website.
“He will miss the next three months and will aim for a return with Hampshire by the end of the season.”
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's troubled tour took a turn for the worse on Tuesday when their fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera was diagnosed as having a stress fracture to his lower back, throwing his participation in the rest of the trip into doubt.
Chameera, who took three wickets, including that of England centurion Jonny Bairstow, during the first Test, faces up to four months on the sidelines.
Sri Lanka were already a seamer light after Dhammika Prasad suffered a shoulder injury in the opening tour fixture at Chelmsford.
Prasad, who took five second-innings wickets when Sri Lanka beat England at Headingley two years ago, is also highly doubtful to feature in the remainder of the series.
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