England batsman Ollie Pope has been ruled out of action for up to four months after dislocating his left shoulder during the recently-concluded third and final Test against Pakistan earlier this week.
The 22-year-old suffered the injury on the fourth day when he landed awkwardly after diving to save a boundary off the second ball of Stuart Broad's first over of the day on Monday during England’s drawn third Test of against Pakistan in Southampton. England had won the Test series 1-0.
Pope had to leave the field immediately and underwent an MRI scan in London on Wednesday before being reviewed by a consultant on Thursday – which revealed that his dislocated shoulder requires surgery in the next few days and will commence a rehabilitation programme with the Surrey and England medical teams following the operation.
It is huge for the rising star, but, it is being said that Pope will be fit for England's scheduled tours of Sri Lanka and India in early 2021.
The Surrey batsman dislocated the same shoulder while playing for Surrey last summer and missed three months of the county season last year.
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The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in an official statement: “England batsman Ollie Pope has been ruled out for up to four months after dislocating his left shoulder during the raisethebat third Test against Pakistan at the Ageas Bowl. It is hoped that Pope will return in time for England’s winter tours of Sri Lanka and India starting in the early part of 2021.”
Noteworthy, Pope, who has so far played 13 Tests for England, will be unavailable for Surrey's remaining matches in the Bob Willis Trophy and the Vitality Blast.
(With Reuters Inputs)
