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England have been dealt a blow ahead of the first Test against Pakistan in Multan as Ben Stokes will miss the fixture, beginning on October 7. The ace all-rounder was already doubtful for the same and will continue to recover from his hamstring injury to return to full fitness ahead of the next two matches.
Stokes has been out of action for a while now. He suffered the hamstring injury during The Hundred 2024 game between the Northern Superchargers and Manchester Originals while running between the wickets. As a result, he missed the subsequent three-Test series against Sri Lanka, prompting Ollie Pope to step up as the captain. Stokes had notably undergone a scan before coming to Pakistan, with the results indicating that he is 'on track' for full recovery.
Pope, who had captained England to a 2-1 series win over Sri Lanka, will lead the tourists for the fourth successive time. With the 33-year-old absent from the playing XI, England may struggle to balance their side well.
"I'd rather take an extra two weeks than run the risk of potentially doing something worse" - Ben Stokes
Speaking to reporters last month, the seam-bowling all-rounder said the chances of such injuries recurring are high and he is careful to take all the precautions and not hurry himself. He said, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:
"The recurrence rate of these injuries is 50%, which is quite high. I'd rather take an extra two weeks than run the risk of potentially doing something worse and then putting myself out of the game for longer.
"I'm just making sure that I'm doing everything right and everything I possibly can to try and give myself a chance to being fit for that first Test. I got told straight away that, within a couple of days, you'll feel good as gold. That doesn't mean that it's healed. So you have to be careful."
Under the veteran, England had coasted to a 3-0 series sweep over Pakistan in the 2022 leg.
