London, Aug 20 (IANS) England’s seam-bowling all-rounder Sam Curran’s hopes of making a Test comeback have been dealt a significant blow after he was ruled out for the remainder of the home season due to groin surgery.
Curran, 28, had been expected to join the national squad for the ongoing Test series against Pakistan and could have earned his first Test appearance since 2021. However, Curran was booked to undergo an operation on his groin following the conclusion of The Hundred, and that has brought his season to a premature end.
“Sam Curran has been assessed for a groin injury and will undergo surgery on Friday. He will not be available for the remainder of the home season,” county side Surrey said in a statement.
England’s newly-appointed chief selector Marcus North had previously hinted that Curran could be considered as an all-round option after the retirement of Ben Stokes following their 2-1 defeat to New Zealand in June.
“With the retirement of Ben Stokes, it’s quite clear that he provided us with a certain balance in the team. Sam Curran is certainly a player of interest for us. He’s someone our backroom staff and medical team will be working with in the coming weeks to make sure that he potentially becomes an option in the third Test. He’s someone that we really value highly, and we see playing a role in the future for us as an all-rounder.”
The injury setback also coincides with fellow Surrey and England cricketer Will Jacks being ruled out of the Pakistan Test series after undergoing emergency surgery. Jacks, though, could yet feature for England in a white-ball series against Sri Lanka that concludes the men’s international home season.
“Will Jacks is currently recovering after a successful operation to remove his appendix. We will monitor his recovery and assess his availability ahead of the Sri Lanka series,” the statement from Surrey further said.
In Surrey’s ongoing County Championship game against Nottinghamshire at The Oval, uncapped Indian batting all-rounder Mahipal Lomror has been handed a debut and is filling in for Jacks, while his fellow countryman, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, has missed out on the match due to a neck issue.
–IANS
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