England were dealt a huge blow to their chances in the upcoming 2022 T20 World Cup on Friday as Jonny Bairstow suffered an injury due to a "freak accident" while playing golf. "England and Yorkshire batter Jonathan Bairstow has been ruled out of the rest of the summer and the ICC Men's T20 World Cup," the English cricket board revealed in its statement. The injury means Bairstow is ruled out for the foreseeable future. Bairstow himself took to Instagram to state that he won't be available for selection in "the immediate future". "Unfortunately I am going to be unavailable of all games/tours in the immediate future. The reason being is that I have injured by lower leg in a freak accident and it shall need an operation," Bairstow wrote.
He went on to explain how he suffered the "freak" injury.
"The injury came when I slipped on the golf course this morning," the wicketkeeper-batter wrote.
"I am gutted and want to wish everyone for this week at The Oval all the best firstly and the boys that are going to Australia for the T20 World Cup," he added.
Bairstow's absence will be massive as he has been in stunning form for England across formats this year.
While Ben Duckett has been added to England's squad for the third Test against South Africa, no replacement has yet been named for the World Cup squad.
England had announced their T20 World Cup squad earlier on Friday, with star opener Jason Roy the most notable exclusion.
England will play their first match of the T20 World Cup on October 22 against Afghanistan at Perth.