England suffered a huge blow just before the start of the Lord’s Test against India as pacer Stuart Broad has been ruled out of the entire five-match series. Broad, who is England’s second-highest wicket-taker in the longest format, injured his calf during the training session on Tuesday.
“England seamer Stuart Broad has sustained a tear to his right calf and has been ruled out of the LV= Insurance Test series against India. He underwent an MRI scan in London on Wednesday lunchtime, which revealed a tear,” the England and Wales Cricket Board said in a statement.
After being ruled out of the red-ball fixtures against Virat Kohli and Co., Broad took to Instagram to share a heartwarming post, explaining how things changed quickly for him. The Nottinghamshire cricketer revealed that he jumped a hurdle during the warm-up but landed inappropriately on his right ankle, hurting his calf.
“Things can change so quickly. A moment before training, all smiles, then during the warm-up, I jumped a hurdle, landed a bit awkwardly on my right ankle, then the next step felt like I’d been whipped by a rope as hard as you can imagine on the back of my leg. I actually turned to @jimmya9 [James Anderson] & asked why he whipped me! But when I realised he was no where near me I knew I was in trouble. Scans say grade 3 calf,” wrote Broad.
The 35-year-old expressed his disappointment over missing the remaining Test series against India but mentioned that he is hopeful of getting fit soon for the Ashes 2021-22 scheduled to take place in Australia later this year.
“All so innocuous. Season over & gutted to miss this India Test Series, but a huge focus on Australia now. Going to take my time, no rush, baby steps & be the fittest I can be heading out there. Big focus in my brain,” he added.
“Good luck to the @englandcricket boys this week. I’ll be watching every ball from my sofa hoping to see runs & wickets in the glorious Lord’s sunshine,” Broad added further.
