England pacer Jofra Archer, who underwent an elbow operation last Friday doesn't want to rush himself in getting back to cricket and has prepared himself to miss the five-match Test series against India starting August this year in Nottingham.
Archer, who has been struggling with his elbow after the glass row, wants this to over and get done with as according to him he will rather miss a few weeks of cricket rather than risking the whole career by getting back to the game soon. Archer has been managing his elbow problem since the South Africa tour in 2020 when he was diagnosed with a stress fracture.
While he played through the India series with pain, he pulled out of the IPL and recently played for Sussex in a four-day game. While ECB has said that they will review his situation after four weeks as he will undergo an intense rehabilitation period.
Writing in his Daily Mail column, Archer said, "The way I am looking at things is that I would rather miss a few weeks of a year so that I have a few more years in my career."
Archer said that his primary focus is now on playing the T20 World Cup and the Ashes for England for which he is ready to miss the India series if still doesn't feel match fit for the five-match series.
"One thing I am determined about post-elbow operation is not to rush my comeback, because my primary focus is to be playing for England in the Twenty20 World Cup and Ashes later this year.
"Those are my targets. If I come back before then and manage to play in the home Test series against India -- then fine, so be it. If I don't, I am quite prepared to sit out the summer.
"The way I am looking at things is that I would rather miss a few weeks of a year so that I have a few more years in my career," he wrote.
Archer featured in all five T20Is against India in March earlier this year and also played a couple of Test matches, before being ruled out of the ODI series and the IPL season later. Now, his primary focus is to get back only when he is fully fit and this injury is over and done with.
"I just want to get this injury sorted once and for all and that's why I'm not looking that far ahead or at dates for a return to action," he wrote. "Because if I don't get this right, I won't play any cricket. Period.
"I am not going to do myself any good by coming back before I'm fully fit, so I will take my time and do what is best for me and my life."
