England fast bowler Jofra Archer will have elbow surgery on Friday in a bid to salvage his hopes of playing in the Twenty20 World Cup and Ashes later this year, cricket chiefs have announced.

Archer’s painful right elbow has been a source of concern for the past 18 months and medics have decided that an operation is required.

It is understood the recovery time could be two to three months, with the 26-year-old already ruled out of next month’s home Test series against New Zealand.

‘England and Sussex bowler Jofra Archer has been reviewed by a medical consultant in respect of his right elbow soreness,’ said a brief statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board on Thursday.

‘He will now proceed to surgery tomorrow (Friday). Further updates will be released in due course.’

England would like the Barbados-born quick back in their attack during the five-match Test series against India starting in August but their two primary objectives come at the back end of the year.

Archer is an established match-winner in the shortest format and would be a certain pick for the T20 showpiece in India starting in October. He is also considered a vital weapon for the Ashes, which start in Australia in December.

He returned to action for Sussex in a drawn County Championship match against Kent at Hove last week but bowled only five overs in the visitors’ second innings, again troubled by the longstanding injury in his bowling arm.

The surgery marks the latest setback for Archer, who was ruled out of the Indian Premier League and subsequently went under the knife to have a fragment of glass removed from a finger following a freak incident involving a fish tank.

Fellow England seamer Stuart Broad, speaking on Monday, was in no doubt about the priorities for his gifted team-mate.

‘Obviously the New Zealand and India series are huge for us but if I was looking at Jofra Archer I’d want him bowling my last over in the T20 World Cup and I’d want him playing at Brisbane (in the Ashes opener),’ he said.

‘I think Jofra can play a huge part in all three formats for England but he won’t just be able to play every game,’ added Broad, now a Test specialist.

‘You do have to get him right for the games you want him right for. If that means that he has to miss certain games along the way, that’s part and parcel of being a talented cricketer playing all three formats.’

Archer, a key member of the England team that won the 2019 50-over World Cup, has played 13 Tests, 17 one-day internationals and 12 T20Is.

AFP