A timeline of England cricket star Jofra Archer’s run of injuries
A timeline of England cricket star Jofra Archer’s run of injuries
England’s Jofra Archer celebrates after taking the wicket of Australia’s David Warner caught by England’s Rory Burns during play on day five of the 2nd Ashes Test cricket match between England and Australia at Lord’s cricket ground in London, Sunday, Aug. 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
England’s Jofra Archer, center, reacts after teammate Rehan Ahmed dropped a catch of Bangladesh’s Rony Talukdar, left, during the third and last T20 cricket match between Bangladesh and England in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, March 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, File)
England’s Jofra Archer bowls against Scotland during an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup cricket match at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan, File)
England’s Jofra Archer receives the ball to bowl against Namibia during an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup cricket match at Siv Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan, File)
England’s Jofra Archer walks onto the field before the start of play on day two of the second cricket test match between England and India at Edgbaston in Birmingham, England, Thursday, July 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell, File)
England’s Jofra Archer celebrates after taking the wicket of Australia’s David Warner caught by England’s Rory Burns during play on day five of the 2nd Ashes Test cricket match between England and Australia at Lord’s cricket ground in London, Sunday, Aug. 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
England’s Jofra Archer celebrates after taking the wicket of Australia’s David Warner caught by England’s Rory Burns during play on day five of the 2nd Ashes Test cricket match between England and Australia at Lord’s cricket ground in London, Sunday, Aug. 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
England’s Jofra Archer, center, reacts after teammate Rehan Ahmed dropped a catch of Bangladesh’s Rony Talukdar, left, during the third and last T20 cricket match between Bangladesh and England in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, March 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, File)
England’s Jofra Archer, center, reacts after teammate Rehan Ahmed dropped a catch of Bangladesh’s Rony Talukdar, left, during the third and last T20 cricket match between Bangladesh and England in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, March 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, File)
England’s Jofra Archer bowls against Scotland during an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup cricket match at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan, File)
England’s Jofra Archer bowls against Scotland during an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup cricket match at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan, File)
England’s Jofra Archer receives the ball to bowl against Namibia during an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup cricket match at Siv Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan, File)
England’s Jofra Archer receives the ball to bowl against Namibia during an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup cricket match at Siv Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan, File)
England’s Jofra Archer walks onto the field before the start of play on day two of the second cricket test match between England and India at Edgbaston in Birmingham, England, Thursday, July 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell, File)
England’s Jofra Archer walks onto the field before the start of play on day two of the second cricket test match between England and India at Edgbaston in Birmingham, England, Thursday, July 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell, File)
Jofra Archer exploded onto the international cricket scene in the summer of 2019, starring for England in its memorable title triumph at the 50-over World Cup and then the Ashes series weeks later.
Since then, the Barbados-born quick has been blighted by a run of injuries that has derailed the career of one of cricket’s most talented pace bowlers and meant he hasn’t played a test for England since 2021.
Following his selection for the third test against India starting Thursday, here’s a look at his injury problems over the past five years:
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2020
Archer misses three of England’s four test matches against South Africa and then a tour of Sri Lanka because of a bone stress injury in his right elbow.
2021
Archer requires an injection in his right elbow and misses two of England’s four tests against India, as well as the subsequent ODI series. The problem gets worse when he plays in the tour-ending T20 series.
Because of that issue and after a tendon injury in his right hand sustained when he broke a fish tank while trying to clean it, he misses the Indian Premier League.
On the verge of a test return, Archer complains of pain in his right elbow and misses the home series against New Zealand. Scans later reveals a stress fracture, ruling him out of the test series against India, the Ashes Down Under and the T20 World Cup in between.
In December, Archer undergoes a second operation on his elbow, ruling him out of the upcoming West Indies tour.
2022
In May, Archer is diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back and is sidelined for the rest of the season. He also misses the T20 World Cup won by England at the end of the year.
2023
Archer plays white-ball cricket for England against South Africa and Bangladesh from January to March but complains of pain in his right elbow while at the IPL and later withdraws from the competition.
He returns to England for rehab but misses the entire international summer because of a recurrence of a stress fracture in his right elbow.
Archer returns to close-to-full fitness but isn’t available for England’s feeble 50-over World Cup title defense in India.
2024
With his injury situation starting to clear up, Archer and England agree to him only playing white-ball cricket for the country that year. He plays at the T20 World Cup held in the Caribbean and the United States.
2025
In May, Archer misses the ODI series against the West Indies because of a right thumb injury but is included in the test squad against India, though misses the first two matches.
He gets called up for the third test starting Thursday at Lord’s, with England captain Ben Stokes saying: “If we didn’t think he’s in a position to get through a test match as a bowler, then we wouldn’t be considering him for selection.”
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