Ben Stokes delivers defiant message after England Test captain was ruled out for three months following cruel injury blow

Ben Stokes vowed to shed more blood, sweat and tears for England in an impassioned, expletive-filled response to the news that his torn left hamstring required surgery.

Stokes, 33, heard surgery was necessary after scans while visiting a consultant in Leeds on Monday and will be booked for the operation in January.

The ECB confirmed in a statement that he would be sidelined for three months, just hours after it was announced that the England Test captain would not be present for the limited tour of India next month and the Champions Trophy in February and March.

Stokes took to I have so much more left in this tank and so much more blood sweat and tears to keep going for my team and this jersey.”

He concluded the message to his 1.4 million followers by saying: ‘There’s a reason I got a Phoenix permanently inked on my body. I’ll see you on the field for some fucking.’

Despite the latest setback – Stokes has struggled with knee problems in recent years – he should not miss any of his side’s action: England’s next test match, a four-day match against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge, is not until the end of May.

It acts as a warm-up for the tougher challenges of a five-match home series against India and an attempt to win their first Ashes in 15 years in late 2025.

Last week, in the immediate aftermath of the injury, Stokes insisted he will not waver in his bid to operate as a true all-rounder for these two seismic assignments.

The incident at Hamilton, during the dying embers of the 2-1 win over New Zealand, is the second time Stokes has damaged his left hamstring in four months, having initially played a Hundred match in Manchester for Northern Superchargers. in August.