England breathe huge sigh of relief as Ben Stokes survives nasty blow on forearm in training… with Ashes talisman admitting he ‘thought it was broken’ before getting all-clear
- England talisman Ben Stokes has been cleared fit after getting a blow to his arm
- The agonising hit from Jonathan Trott left Stokes thinking his arm was broken
- Stokes is back in England setup after taking a break for mental health reasons
England collectively held their breath during training in Brisbane on Sunday when Ben Stokes was struck an agonising blow on the left forearm.
But to huge relief, their talisman reported a clean bill of health.
Stokes said: ‘I was happy to get a bit of training in, but then came a scary moment as I got hit on the forearm by a ball from our batting coach Jonathan Trott.
England talisman Ben Stokes got the all-clear after getting a heavy blow on the arm in training
Stokes, one of England’s key players, feared he had initially broken his arm after the contact
‘I was in agony, and I couldn’t lift it. I thought it was broken. Thankfully the pain and reaction settled down once I was back in the dressing room and the physios could be sure it wasn’t a break.’
Stokes has been looking good in Australia. He is back after two operations on a broken left index finger and a complete break from the game to protect his mental health.
Managing director Ashley Giles said: ‘Ben seems to be going well. But we’ve still got to be steady with him because he hasn’t played a lot of cricket lately.’
Managing director Ashley Giles said England still have to be steady with the all-rounder