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England Test captain Ben Stokes sustained a facial injury after being struck by a cricket ball, the all-rounder revealed on social media.

Stokes posted a photograph on Instagram showing his right eye badly swollen and bruised, along with grazes on his cheek and lip and a bandage placed in his nose. Captioning the image with trademark humour, he wrote: “You should see the state of the cricket ball.”

The 34-year-old has since returned to England following a disappointing Ashes campaign, which ended in a 4–1 series defeat.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Stokes was neither batting nor bowling at the time of the incident. He was reportedly standing to the side during a nets session when the ball struck him.



The injury comes as Stokes continues to recover from a groin issue sustained during the fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia in Sydney last month.

Despite the setback, Stokes is expected to return for England’s home Test series against New Zealand in June and could feature for Durham in the County Championship ahead of the series.