ARCHER'S AGONY AS INJURY ENDS SEASON

ENGLAND QUICK DEALT DEVASTATING BLOW AFTER SUFFERING STRESS FRACTURE OF BACK

- Will Macpherson

JOFRA ARCHER has suffered another brutal injury blow that has ruled him out for the season.

Archer has not played for England in any format since March 2021 due to a stress fracture of the right elbow. Now he has suffered a stress fracture of the lower back.

Helped by two surgeries, he was making good progress in his return from the elbow injury, joining England to train in Barbados last month, and was hoping to play for Sussex in the Vitality Blast as soon as next week.

But, as he built up his return, he suffered the back injury, which has since been confirmed as a stress fracture.

He has been ruled out for the season and seems a major doubt for the T20 World Cup in Australia in October, for which he would have been a key player for England. He missed the last edition of that tournament, in the UAE last autumn, with England struggling to replace his threat in the powerplay, and especially at the death.

It had not been expected that Archer would play Test cricket for England this summer, as they slowly eased him back into action in the white-ball formats. Now his wait between international fixtures will extend to at least 18 months.