England captain Ben Stokes calls himself 'bionic man' after hamstring surgery

England Test captain Ben Stokes has humorously referred to himself as the “Bionic Man” following his latest surgery to repair a torn hamstring. Stokes suffered the injury to his left hamstring during England’s final match of 2024 in New Zealand, necessitating surgery and a three-month recovery period.

Stokes confirmed via Instagram that he has undergone surgery through a post. The England Test team captain posted a photo of himself in the backseat of a car, leg propped up in a brace and cushioned by pillows. The all-rounder told his fans he would be back in action in a bit.

“Bionic Man for a while. Surgery done. In a bit….” said Stokes on Instagram.

After an intense rehabilitation program, Stokes returned to full fitness and resumed his all-rounder role in the series against New Zealand. However, the demands of his workload took a toll during the final Test in Hamilton, where he pulled up mid-over with a recurrence of the issue and was unable to continue in the match.

Stokes has already been excluded from England’s squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy. With no Test cricket scheduled until May, he has a window of opportunity to focus on his recovery and regain peak form.

Despite suffering the injury, Stokes admitted that he won’t be holding back and won’t look to reduce his workload in the coming matches.

“It’s just one of those unfortunate things. I ain’t holding back.”

“Every time you walk out on the field you’re at risk of injury. You can’t play for anything in this game.”

“I’m obviously very disappointed, but every setback I come back stronger,” Stokes told BBC Sport.

“There’s no doubt I’ll be going away from here, working [hard] as I always do and getting myself back to where I was in this game.”

England will play a one-off Test against Zimbabwe in May before facing India in a 5-match series, starting from June.