Jofra Archer ruled out of upcoming Ashes series

Frustrations continue to grow for Jofra Archer as the England pacer has been ruled out for the rest of the summer, thus effectively ruling him out of the Ashes.

He has been ruled out from the Ashes series due to his medical condition as recent scans revealed a recurrence of a stress fracture to his right elbow which cut short his stint in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Mumbai Indians, as per the official statement of ECB.

Archer is now set to undergo rehabilitation with the England and Sussex medical teams, who will work on his injury management.

ECB had released a statement when Mumbai Indians released Archer for the rest of the season, stating that the 28-year-old was "pushing through the discomfort whilst recently playing" but could not take any further part in the IPL.

"It has been a frustrating and upsetting period for Jofra Archer," said ECB Managing Director for England Men's Cricket, Rob Key as quoted by ICC.

"He was making good progress until a recurrence of the elbow injury, which kept him out for an extended period previously.

"We wish him the best of luck with his recovery. I'm sure we will see Jofra back to his best and winning games for England, whatever the format. Hopefully, sooner rather than later."

In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Archer was expected to lead the Mumbai attack in the IPL but played only five of the 10 games when he was part of the squad. He picked up only two wickets at an economy rate of 9.50.

The latest setback piles on the series of injuries Archer has sustained for the better part of the last three years. The ace pacer returned to international cricket in January 2023, although only in the white-ball formats during the series against South Africa and Bangladesh.

Archer's elbow issues date back to early 2020 when he sustained a stress fracture that sidelined him for the first half of the year. In early 2021, he had to go under the knife after a freak injury at home. A stress injury on his back in May 2022 put him on the shelf for the entirety of the year.

Archer finally returned to international cricket earlier this year in January 2023 and played seven matches (four ODIs, three T20Is) against South Africa and Bangladesh. He showed signs of finding his old rhythm, registering his career-best ODI figures (6/40) in just his second game back against South Africa. (ANI)