Ben Stokes reveals plan to finally fix troublesome knee injury after World Cup

Ben Stokes revealed he has a plan to try to resolve a long-standing problem with his left knee and get back to being a fully fledged all-rounder once the Cricket World Cup has finished.

England’s Test captain said at the end of the Ashes “serious conversations” would be had about the issue that restricted him to bowling 29 overs in the drawn series and none in the last three matches.

He has since reversed his ODI retirement for England’s bid to retain their World Cup crown – having been so influential to their 2019 success – and will travel to India next month as a specialist batter.

Once England’s involvement is over in mid-November, Stokes will turn his attention to his ailing limb and attempt to recover in plenty of time for the five-match Test tour of India, starting on January 25.

However, while Stokes is upbeat about his prognosis, he stopped short of divulging whether an operation is required or if the specialists he has seen have recommended an alternative course of action.

“I’ve had some good conversations with specialists in different fields around rehab and a plan going forward after the World Cup,” Stokes said.

“There will be potential of something happening after the World Cup. There will be a time I make clear what’s going on, but I don’t think now is the right time to do that, with everything we have got coming up.”

He added to the BBC: “There’s actually quite a long time off after the World Cup. It’s nice knowing after the World Cup we’ve got something, a really good plan we can do and we can stick to.

“I want to be playing next summer as a genuine all-rounder. This winter is all about playing this World Cup then getting this knee sorted.”

Stokes, who is set for his first ODI in 14 months as England take