England pace-bowler Olly Stone has been ruled out of all cricket for 14 weeks following a knee injury which required surgery.
Stone, 31, has played five Tests, 10 ODIs and one T20I for England. His last red-ball international was the third Test against Sri Lanka at the Oval last summer, following which he took part in the home ODI series against Australia. He was also picked in both of England's Test squads for their winter tours in Pakistan and New Zealand.
Since his last England appearance in September, Stone has only played T20 cricket, participating in the ILT20 for Dubai Capitals – who went on to win the competition.
Olly Stone ruled out of all cricket for 14 weeks
On Friday (April 4), a media release from the England and Wales Cricket Board revealed that Stone would miss the start of the upcoming summer.
"England and Nottinghamshire fast bowler Olly Stone has been ruled out of all cricket for 14 weeks following scans and subsequent surgery this week, which confirmed a right knee injury.
"Stone experienced increasing discomfort during Nottinghamshire’s pre-season tour of Abu Dhabi last month. Further scans conducted this week revealed the need for surgery.
"He will now begin a period of rehabilitation, working closely with the medical teams at both the ECB and Nottinghamshire. As a result, Stone will miss the start of the English summer but is targeting a return to full fitness by August 2025," read the statement.
Nottinghamshire's County Championship campaign begins today at Trent Bridge, as Durham visit. Stone has not been named in the 15-man squad led by Haseeb Hameed, which contains fellow England international Josh Tongue, the uncapped Dillon Pennington and Australian quick Fergus O'Neill as pace-bowling options.
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The targeting of August for a return to fitness means Stone is highly unlikely to return in time for the five-Test home series against India, which runs from June 20 to August 4 this year. Gus Atkinson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts are England's pace options in Stone's absence, with the likes of Tongue, Pennington and Sam Cook also in with a shout of making the squad.
Stone's career has been blighted by injury. In 2016, he damaged his ACL while celebrating dismissing Moeen Ali in a T20 game, which put him out of action for 13 months. After making his Test debut against Australia at Lord's in 2019, he underwent back surgery in 2021, having two screws inserted. He then broke his finger in 2022 while making a comeback for Warwickshire's second XI, which required surgery. He also missed most of the 2023 season with a hamstring injury.
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