England fast bowler Olly Stone has been ruled out for the majority of the summer after undergoing knee surgery.
Stone played the last of his five Tests against Sri Lanka in September and had been hoping to push for further honours with Nottinghamshire this year.
But the latest in a long line of fitness issues mean he will be starting a long recovery period of more than three months as the county season gets under way on Friday.
A statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed: “England and Nottinghamshire fast bowler Olly Stone has been ruled out of all cricket for 14 weeks following scans and subsequent surgery this week, which confirmed a right knee injury.
“Stone experienced increasing discomfort during Nottinghamshire’s pre-season tour of Abu Dhabi last month. Further scans conducted this week revealed the need for surgery. He will now begin a period of rehabilitation, working closely with the medical teams at both the ECB and Nottinghamshire.”
The 31-year-old, who has missed long periods due to multiple stress fractures in his back and ruptured his anterior cruciate ligaments early in his career, could target a comeback for London Spirit in the Hundred.
He will likely miss England’s one-off test against Zimbabwe, as well as a limited over-series with the West Indies and five home tests against India between May and August.
He joins fellow England quicks Mark Wood and Brydon Carse on the sidelines for the start of the domestic campaign.
