England Test captain Ben Stokes has successfully undergone surgery to repair a torn hamstring and shared a picture of his leg in braces on his official Instagram account on January 7. Ben Stokes has humorously dubbed himself 'The Bionic Man' after undergoing scheduled surgery on his torn left hamstring.
Stokes tore his hamstring during England's third Test against New Zealand in December. Stokes returned for the Test series against New Zealand, where he played as an all-rounder. However, he experienced discomfort in the middle which forced him to leave the field and sit out the match.
Bionic man for a while Surgery in a pinch – Ben Stokes
After his surgery, Ben Stokes shared the picture on Instagram. He wrote: “Bionic man for a while, surgery for a bit.” The post quickly went viral, receiving over 30,000 likes and 200 comments, with many cricket fans wishing him a speedy recovery ahead of England's crucial Test series against India in June.
The 33-year-old first tore his hamstring while batting for Northern Superchargers in the Hundred against Manchester Originals last August.
This injury ruled him out for two months, forcing him to miss England's home Test series against Sri Lanka. Stokes later revealed that his intense efforts to prepare in time for England's winter tours of Pakistan and New Zealand had left him “exhausted and physically ruined”.
Ben Stokes has been dropped from England's 2025 Champions Trophy squad
Stokes has been left out of England's 2025 Champions Trophy squad and will not play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. With Test cricket not resuming until May, he has plenty of time to fully recover ahead of the busy season at home, which includes a Test series against India in June.
He has a three-month window to focus on rehabilitation. This break allows Stokes to regain full fitness and prepare for the upcoming summer of cricket.
Ben Stokes bowled 36.2 overs in the Hamilton Test before the hamstring injury
Stokes bowled 36.2 overs in the Hamilton Test before the hamstring injury, the most since 2022. He bowled 23 overs on the first day, the most he has bowled in a single day. Stokes returned to bowling after successfully undergoing knee surgery in October 2023.
Ahead of the Hamilton Test, Stokes said he had worked hard to develop his ability to play long spells. He admitted that as he gets older, he needs to work harder on his fitness to continue to perform at the highest level.
“I have to work a lot more on the physical side of the job to enable me to go out and do my job,” he had said before the Hamilton Test, “but I've got a good amount of overs in the last two. games and I'm more confident that I go through a lot of spells in a day.”
Read also: 'Rishabh Pant will be missed': Sanju Samson declared India's first-choice wicketkeeper in T20Is