Jofra Archer travelled to Belgium earlier this month to see an elbow specialist, where he apparently underwent minor surgical surgery. He returned to India after a brief absence.
Throughout his recent temporary layoff during the IPL, Archer underwent a “minor procedure” in his right elbow. He has experienced many problems with the same elbow over the past two years, with an initial stress fracture in 2021 keeping him out of the Ashes, T20 World Cup, and English summer of that year.
On Wednesday morning, the ECB informed ESPNcricinfo that Archer had seen his specialist in Belgium a few weeks before. He subsequently joined the Mumbai Indians’ IPL XI and played against the Punjab Kings on Saturday. He is anticipated to play this weekend against the Rajasthan Royals.
Due to elbow and back ailments that both put his career in peril, Archer had nearly two years off from international cricket before making a comeback earlier this year. He participated in Mumbai’s opening game of IPL 2023, but his head coach, Mark Boucher, termed it as “a little niggle” that kept him out of their following four games.
He was reinserted into the lineup for their Saturday night loss to the Kings but was absent for their Tuesday away game against Gujarat Titans. Archer was not well at the time of the toss, according to Mumbai’s captain Rohit Sharma, but he is anticipated to play against the Royals on Sunday night.
After being out for a while, Archer said that a slight setback like his had to be expected because the body doesn’t always recover completely.
Further, he said that there will be times when it seems much more serious than it is, so I simply want to concentrate on feeling well right now.
The Ashes series this summer, which begins on June 16 at Edgbaston, is still in Archer’s future, according to the ECB. He is unlikely to be match-fit for the first Test because he hasn’t played in a first-class match in almost two years, but he could be eligible later in the series.
