England captain Ben Stokes has successfully undergone eye surgery after being struck by a cricket ball in a freak incident earlier this month.
The 34-year-old suffered a severe facial injury during a nets session while coaching Durham’s academy players at an indoor centre. Last week, he shared a picture of the injury to Instagram, with his right eye heavily swollen and bruised, a graze on his cheek and lip, and a bandage stuffed in his nose.
“You should see the state of the cricket ball,” he captioned the picture.
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Stokes uploaded another photo to social media on Tuesday, captioning the post: “May not look like it… but the surgery was a success.”
It is not yet known when Stokes can return to cricket, but he will be part of England Lions’ coaching staff for the development side’s series against Pakistan Shaheens in the United Arab Emirates next month.
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Elsewhere, Stokes is also recovering from an adductor injury suffered during the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney in January.
The injury prevented him from bowling in Australia’s second innings and completed a frustrating tour for the England skipper, who bowled well throughout the series but struggled with the bat.
Stokes’ groin problem is the latest of several injuries that have blighted his career.
In 2024, he tore his hamstring twice and he finished last season’s home series against India on the sidelines due to a shoulder problem, having undergone an operation in late 2023 to deal with knee issues.
Stokes is contracted by England until the end of the 2027 home season summer and he may now avoid entering next month’s auction for the Hundred, leaving him free to focus on the Test team.
The all-rounder is no longer a member of England’s white-ball set-up and won’t feature in the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka that starts this weekend.
He could next play for Durham in the early rounds of the County Championship before England begin their home Test season against New Zealand at Lord’s on June 4 — Stokes’s 35th birthday.
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