Atherton casts doubt on Archer’s England future amid latest injury setback

Former England captain Michael Atherton has expressed concerns over Jofra Archer’s “future across all three forms” following his latest injury setback

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Following the news that Jofra Archer has suffered yet another setback in his recovery from an elbow injury, Michael Atherton has cast doubt over whether the England quick “has a future across all three forms of the game.”

Archer has been struggling with injury problems for the last 18 months and he has not played a competitive game since July, with his last England appearance coming all the way back in March.

The 26-year-old was expected to play a key role in England’s bid for success at the T20 World Cup and the Ashes, but a stress fracture in his elbow blighted those plans.

Archer first underwent surgery on his elbow in May and, after an attempted comeback for Sussex was halted, he had been resting and rehabilitating the injury in the hope that he would not need a second operation.

However, Archer has been forced to go under the knife once again and will now be out of action until next summer, provided there are no further setbacks in his recovery.

Since making his debut in 2019, Archer has played a key role in all formats for England, notably bowling the super over in the World Cup final and enjoying an enthralling battle with Steve Smith in the Ashes.

Unfortunately, injury problems mean that Archer has played in less than half of England’s matches since then and Atherton has described the latest setback as “extremely concerning”.

He wrote in the Times : “It was in August that the ECB announced that he had suffered a recurrence; that he has now undergone a second operation must be extremely concerning.

“He has played 13 Tests, 17 ODIs and a dozen T20 internationals and is regarded as a critically important all-format bowler, but there must be a doubt now over his long-term effectiveness and whether he has a future across all three forms of the game.”