"My primary focus is to be playing for England in the Twenty20 World Cup and Ashes later this year"; England fast bowler Jofra Archer is hoping to be back playing by the autumn following his elbow surgery
Friday 28 May 2021 19:14, UK
Jofra Archer has targeted a return to action in time for the T20 World Cup in October and the Ashes series at the end of the year after "career-defining" elbow surgery.
The 26-year-old Sussex pace bowler is rehabilitating after an operation last Friday and is ready to "sit out the summer" in a bid to finally resolve a problem with his right elbow.
In his column for the Daily Mail, Jofra said: "One thing I am determined about post-elbow operation is not to rush my comeback because my primary focus is to be playing for England in the Twenty20 World Cup and Ashes later this year.
"Those are my targets. If I come back before then and manage to play in the home Test series against India - then fine, so be it. If I don't, I am quite prepared to sit out the summer.
"The way I am looking at things is that I would rather miss a few weeks of a year so that I have a few more years in my career."
England face two Tests against New Zealand in June, then a white-ball series against Sri Lanka followed by a one-day series against Pakistan in July.
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place in October and November in India and the Ashes series begins in Australia in December.
"I'm not going to do myself any good by coming back before I'm fully fit, so I will take my time and do what is best for me and my life," Archer said.
"The bandages are off and I have spoken to the consultant since, but everything is still very fresh and I remain sore after what was a career-defining moment last Friday.
"Surgery was always the last option and we wanted to exercise every possible strategy before we went down that route. It was the last thing on the list. It is not always a fix and in four weeks we will find out how things have gone."
Ashley Giles, managing director of England men's cricket, told Sky Sports that he believes Archer will be fit in time for the ICC Men's World Twenty20.
"We're confident - the surgery went very well. It's major surgery and that's why before you rush into these sorts of operations you look at all conservative measures and treatments and eventually when they don't work you have to go down a different road, and that is what we've done.
"He's had the best treatment and he'll get the best rehabilitation. We're confident that when he does come back he'll do what he loves most, which is bowl 90-plus mph without any pain.
"I think all of these sort of injuries - and I've had my fair share - are very worrying for the player and we're aware of that and the anxiety that can cause for that person involved. Every time you go into theatre there are risks associated with it. We never take that lightly and that's why we explored all conservative routes first.
"We're happy with how it's gone. We'll put a lot of support around him and look after him and the thing he should look forward to is playing a really big role in helping us challenge for that T20 World Cup and the Ashes."
