Ben Stokes to undergo knee surgery after World Cup

England all-rounder Ben Stokes to undergo knee surgery after the World Cup in a bid to cure his longstanding fitness problems and prolong his career.
He has not bowled in a match since July, his body unable to cope with the rigours of bowling.
He missed the first three games of the campaign with a left hip injury, which has not explicitly been linked to his existing problems and, with England set to bow out after the group stages, Stokes has agreed to go under the knife.
He hopes to be ready to lead England’s Test tour of India, which starts in Hyderabad on January 25 following a two-week training camp in Dubai.
Speaking on the eve of his side’s clash with Ashes rivals Australia in Ahmedabad, he said: “I am having surgery after the World Cup. There was a lot of time put into deciding when to get it done.
“It’s been a long time coming and obviously I want to get back to what I’ve been doing prior to the 18 months where I’ve had this injury. It’s been a big hindrance on me and affected what I can do for the team.
“Obviously that’s what I want to be doing. You’d hope that it means that I can get back to doing what I’ve been known for, which is playing a role as a batter and playing a role as a bowler as well.
“We’ll just see how everything goes, see how I respond to the surgery and all the rehab as well.”
He has never revealed the precise diagnosis of his knee injury, but chronic tendonitis is thought to be possible.
“I’ll switch off and let Andy Williams, the surgeon, do what he does best which is fix knees.”
Turning his attention to matters at hand, Stokes had a blunt assessment of England’s dire showing at the World Cup – a competition which drew him back in after a year away from ODIs – but has not lived up to expectations.
“I think the problem is that we’ve been crap, to be honest with you,” he said.
“We’ve had a disastrous World Cup and there’s no point sugarcoating that because it’s the truth. We have been crap. Everything we’ve tried throughout this World Cup, it’s just not worked.
“We know that as individuals and as a team, I think that’s where it is as a team, we’ve been nowhere near good enough to be able to compete in a World Cup.
“I think the biggest thing that we’ve got to play for is the pride of what it is to put the three lions on your chest.

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