Fast bowler Jofra Archer was ruled out for the rest of the year because of a stress fracture on his right below, England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed on Thursday. He will also be missing the five-match Test series against India, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 and the Ashes series in Australia, as well.

“Jofra Archer underwent further scans on his injured right elbow last week. The scans revealed that he has suffered a recurrence of a stress fracture of his right elbow,” ECB said in a statement.

The 26-year-old had an operation in May to remove a bone fragment from his elbow and only returned to the field last month. He became aware of his problem in his elbow during the matches for Sussex and a 50-over friendly against Oxfordshire.

ECB said that he will now spend time on an extended break from cricket before returning for a medical review in early autumn.

Due to his elbow problem, he had also missed England’s tour of South Africa in 2020, England’s tour of India earlier this year and was also ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

This news comes as another big blow for England given their preparation for the T20 World Cup in the UAE which is set to take place later this year. This news will also affect England’s Ashes campaign against Australia.

Had Archer been there, they could’ve exploited the pitch by fielding Mark Wood, Ollie Stone and Archer. Currently, Stone, too, is recovering from a stress fracture in his lower back.

England are also missing the services of Ben Stokes, who has taken an indefinite break to “prioritise his mental wellbeing and to rest his left index finger, which has not fully healed since his return to competitive cricket earlier this month.”

This injury can very well cast a doubt on his career as he has only played six Tests, three ODIs and 11 T20Is since he first encountered his elbow problem.

Archer was England’s go-to bowler in the 2019 World Cup, winning then the World Cup with his performance in the Super Over.