Ben Stokes ruled out for three months with torn hamstring, vows more 'more blood, sweat and tears' once back

England Test captain Ben Stokes is set to miss at least three months’ worth of cricketing action after suffering a torn hamstring during the tour of New Zealand earlier this month, the team management announced on Monday. The 33-year-old all-rounder had suffered the injury during the third Test against the Black Caps in Hamilton, and has already been ruled out of the upcoming limited-overs tour of India as well as the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan and UAE.

Stokes had left the field while bowling on Day 3 at Seddon Park and did not walk out to bat the following day during England’s chase of an improbable 658-run target set by the Kiwis. England ended up getting bowled out for a meagre 234 suffering a 423-run thrashing at the hands of the Tom Latham-led side though they took the series 2-1 thanks to comprehensive wins in the first two Tests.

Further assessments revealed the full extent of damage to Stokes’ hamstring, as a result of which the New Zealand-born cricketer will be undergoing surgery in January, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in an official statement.

Stokes, however, sounded defiant when reacting to the latest injury setback.

“Something else to overcome…go on then!!!!!!!! I’ve got so much more left in this tank and so much more blood, sweat and tears to go through for my team and this shirt,” Stokes wrote on social media.

“There’s a reason I have a Phoenix permanently inked on my body.”

“See you on the field to f**k some s**t up,” he added.

Stokes had suffered an injury on the same hamstring during The Hundred in August, which had put him out of action for the next two months – forcing him to miss the Test series against Sri Lanka towards the end of the home season and the first Test in the subsequent tour of Pakistan.

The former Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings all-rounder did not enter his name in the IPL 2025 auction that took place in Jeddah in November, and thus is not expected to return to action before the one-off Test against Zimbabwe in May.

Stokes, however, is in for a busy year after the Zimbabwe Test, with England playing a five-Test series against India at home before flying to Australia in the 2025-26 season for the Ashes.