England’s seasoned fast bowler Chris Woakes has been sidelined for the remainder of the fifth and final Test against India at The Oval after suffering a shoulder injury. The news was confirmed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on the morning of Day 2 of the match.
Injury During Attempted Save on Day 1
The 36-year-old pacer picked up the injury late on Day 1 while trying to stop a boundary during the 57th over of India’s innings. In an effort to prevent a drive from Karun Nair off Jamie Overton, Woakes sprinted from mid-off and put in a full-stretch dive. Although he successfully cut off the boundary, he landed uncomfortably on his left shoulder.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒏, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒑.
After the fall, Woakes was clearly in discomfort, clutching his shoulder in pain. He had to be helped off the field, using his sweater as a makeshift sling.
ECB Confirms Absence for Rest of the Test
Even though Woakes returned to the stadium with his teammates ahead of Day 2, he was spotted with a plaster on his hand and was officially ruled out of the remainder of the game.
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝑪𝑩 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅, “𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔 𝑾𝒐𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉. 𝑴𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕-𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒚.”
Further updates on his recovery and availability for upcoming series will depend on post-match medical assessments.
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