Ben Stokes delivers defiant message after England Test captain was ruled out for three months following cruel injury blow

Ben Stokes vowed to shed plenty more blood, sweat and tears for England in a passionate, expletive-filled response to the news his torn left hamstring required surgery.

Stokes, 33, learnt that an operation was necessary following scans, during a visit to a consultant in Leeds on Monday and will be booked in for the operation in January.

The ECB confirmed in a statement that he would be sidelined for three months, just hours after it was revealed England’s Test captain was out of next month’s limited-overs tour of India and the Champions Trophy in February and March.

Taking to X, Stokes tweeted: ‘something else to overcome…go on then!!!!!!!! I’ve got so much more left in this tank and so much more blood sweat and tears to go through for my team and this shirt.’

He concluded the message to his 1.4million followers by saying: ‘There’s a reason I have a Phoenix permanently inked on my body. See you on the field to f*** some s*** up.’

Despite the latest setback – Stokes has battled knee issues over recent years – he should not miss any of his side’s action: England’s next Test match, a four-day affair against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge, is not until late May.

Ben Stokes delivered a defiant message on social media following the news of his injury

It acts as a warm-up for the stiffer challenges of a five-match home series against India and an attempt to win a first away Ashes in 15 years at the end of 2025.

Last week, in the immediate aftermath of the injury, Stokes insisted he will not throttle back in his bid to operate as a genuine all-rounder for those two seismic assignments.

The incident at Hamilton, during the dying embers of the 2-1 victory over New Zealand, is the second time that Stokes has damaged his left hamstring in a matter of four months, having initially pulled up in a Hundred match for Northern Superchargers in Manchester in August.