Stokes has surgery for cartilage tear

Ben Stokes has undergone surgery to address a cartilage tear in his left knee after pulling up injured during the first Test against Sri Lanka.

The ECB said that "full details on his rehabilitation will be confirmed in due course" but if the problem has not developed into a more serious injury then it should be around six weeks. That would leave him on track to return for the Test series against Pakistan which starts on July 14.

Stokes felt his left knee lock up while bowling on the second afternoon of last week's Headingley Test, and though he returned to the field to bowl four more overs, he played no part in the closing stages of England's commanding innings-and-88-run victory.

With Stokes suffering a knee problem - which he tweeted last night that he has managed to play through until now - it will bring back uneasy memories of the latter stages of Andrew Flintoff's career. It was a torn meniscus in his knee that hampered Flintoff and, while there is no indication that Stokes' injury is as serious, it will be a concern for England that such a young player has been hit by such an injury.

The second Test against Sri Lanka will be the first that Stokes has missed since being recalled against West Indies in April last year and is a blow to Durham, his county, who have struggled to sell tickets for the match and would have still been hoping for some late interest with the presence of a local star although the club tweeted on Tuesday that it was experiencing a rush of interest in tickets.

Chris Woakes, the Warwickshire allrounder, has been called into the squad to replace Stokes and is now likely to slot straight into the team having taken 9 for 36 for his county yesterday before leaving to join England in Durham.