Jofra Archer to miss entire summer of cricket for England

Jofra Archer will miss the entire summer of international cricket for England after a stress fracture to the lower back

Jofra Archer will miss the entire summer of international cricket for England after being diagnosed with a stress fracture to the lower back, prolonging the fast bowler's injury woe that has seen him sidelined for the past year.

Archer has been ruled out of the rest of the English season, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Thursday, meaning he will not be available to play until the end of September at the earliest.

The ECB said no timeframe has been set for his return, adding: “A management plan will be determined following further specialist opinion over the coming days.”

The T20 World Cup begins in October in Australia. Archer missed last year's tournament in the United Arab Emirates.

Archer hasn't played international cricket since March 2021 or any competitive cricket since May of that year, when he underwent the first of two elbow operations. The second surgery was in December, after which the Barbados-born paceman said he felt much more confident of a return to action.

He was hoping to play for his English county team, Sussex, this month.

Archer has had fitness concerns ever since a breakthrough summer with England, his adopted country, in 2019 when he starred in the team's Cricket World Cup triumph and then the Ashes.