England wait to learn extent of Woakes' injury

BBC News

a day ago

England will discover the extent of Chris Woakes' shoulder injury later this week after his heroics in the classic fifth Test against India.Woakes sustained a suspected dislocation on the opening day at The Oval, yet emerged to bat with his left arm in a sling on the final day.The 36-year-old supported Gus Atkinson as England looked for the 17 runs they needed to win, not facing a ball but running between the wickets on four occasions. England were ultimately beaten by six runs in one of the most dramatic finishes of all time.All-rounder Woakes will have scans and further assessment on Wednesday."We hope the injury is not too bad, but we will have to work that out over the next week or so," said England head coach Brendon McCullum.Woakes, the only England bowler to play in all five Tests of the series, was injured while fielding late on Thursday, attempting a stop on the boundary.On Friday morning, England said "the injury has ruled him out of any further participation in the Test".But McCullum revealed Woakes had offered to bat later on Friday, at the end of England's first innings."Woakesy came to me in the first innings and said 'do you want me to bat?'," said New Zealander McCullum."It was within 24 hours of it happening and he was in an immense amount of pain."As England closed in on a record target of 374 in their second innings on Sunday, Woakes was pictured in his whites. He had throw-downs to determine how he could bat.On the fifth morning, when Josh Tongue became the ninth England wicket to fall, security staff rushed on to the Oval outfield, believing the game to be over.
However, Woakes appeared from the dressing room, his injured arm covered by his England sweater. As Atkinson shielded him from the strike, Woakes spent 16 minutes in the middle before Atkinson was bowled by Mohammed Siraj to end the Test and give India a 2-2 series draw.Although Woakes did not face a delivery, it is understood he was preparing to take a left-handed stance. This would have put his healthy right arm at the top of the handle in control of the bat, and distanced his injured left shoulder as far from the ball as possible."It's what you want from our players," said McCullum. "This game is hard and takes us to some tough places, challenging us mentally and physically. Sometimes we end up with injuries. To still want to go out and do your best for your country is what these guys are desperate to show."I thought Woakesy was really brave to do that. You could see running between the wickets how much pain he was in. I thought we might have a fairytale, where we needed two to win and he was on strike and found a way. But it wasn't to be."Woakes' injury makes him a huge doubt for the Ashes tour of Australia, which begins in November, and he will not play in The Hundred, which starts on Tuesday.England captain Ben Stokes had already been ruled out of the fifth Test with a shoulder injury of his own and faces a period of rehabilitation.McCullum said the talismanic skipper will be "fine" for the Ashes. Stokes withdrew from playing in The Hundred earlier this year and will instead spend time with his Northern Superchargers team in a coaching and mentoring capacity.Woakes' injury came at the end of a series that included a number of players struck down. England spinner Shoaib Bashir bowled with a broken finger in the third Test at Lord's and India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant batted with a broken foot in the fourth Test at Old Trafford.It has ignited the debate over whether injury replacements should be introduced, but Stokes was firm in his opposition to the idea."I don't see it being a thing," said Stokes. "I could have gone into this game knowing I had a sore shoulder and saying I'll give it a go, hopefully I come through but if not I know I have someone who can come in and replace me."I feel like there is room where you could manipulate it a little bit. I am still heavily against it."