The England bowler Chris Woakes has not given up on playing in the Ashes this winter after he revealed rehabilitation rather than surgery on his dislocated shoulder is being considered.
Woakes produced an astonishing display of bravery in England’s six-run loss to India in the fifth Test of a thrilling series earlier this week when he decided to bat at No 11 with his arm in a sling after a dislocation of his left shoulder on day one of the match.
The 36-year-old has had a scan on his shoulder and while he is still waiting to receive the results, he is hopeful an eight-week period of rehabilitation could be enough to ensure he makes a miraculous recovery to feature in the Ashes, which gets under way on 21 November.
“I’m waiting to see what the extent of the damage is but I think the options will be to have surgery or to go down a rehab route and try and get it as strong as possible,” Woakes told BBC Sport. “I suppose naturally with that there will be a chance of a recurrence, but I suppose that could be a risk that you’re just willing to take sort of thing.
“What I’ve heard from physios and specialists is that the rehab of a surgery option would be closer to four months, or three to four months. That’s obviously touching on the Ashes and Australia so it makes it tricky. From a rehab point of view you can probably get it strong again within eight weeks. So that could be an option, but again obviously still waiting to get the full report on it.”
Woakes is the most experienced member of England’s bowling unit after the retirement of Stuart Broad two summers ago and the decision to move on from record wicket-taker James Anderson in 2024.
