England all-rounder Ben Stokes will be out for up to three months, having suffered a fracture on his left index finger, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Friday. Stokes picked up the injury while fielding against Punjab Kings for Rajasthan Royal in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. "England all-rounder Ben Stokes will be out for up to 12 weeks after a repeat X-ray and CT scan on Thursday revealed that he has a fracture of his left index finger," ECB said in its statement.
"Stokes, who is currently in India with Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, will fly home tomorrow. He will have surgery in Leeds on Monday," it added.
Stokes picked up the injury while taking a catch in the deep to dismiss Chris Gayle in the Royals' opening match.
The injury means he will miss the rest of the IPL and England's Test series against New Zealand in June.
He will also be a doubt for England's five-match Test series against India, which begins in August.
The Rajasthan Royals had initially announced that Stokes would miss IPL 2021 due to the finger injury.
They had also said that Stokes was to stay back in India with the team for the tournament, but he is now set to fly back to England for his surgery.
Stokes bowled just one over against Punjab Kings on Monday and was looking in discomfort after he completed a low diving catch to dismiss Punjab Kings' Chris Gayle.
The 29-year-old carried on playing but did not bowl in the match afterwards. With the bat, Stokes lasted for just three deliveries before he top-edged a Mohammed Shami delivery that the bowler managed to hold on to despite a near collision with Stokes and KL Rahul.