JOFRA ARCHER will have surgery today on his right elbow with a big question mark over his future as a Test cricketer.
Archer is likely to be out for around three months after medics told him an operation was the best way to cure the problem.
The Sussex cricket speedster was given an injection in March but pain and discomfort persists when he tries to bowl long or multiple spells at close to 90mph.
Archer, 26, should be OK to bowl four-over spells in the World Cup in October and November but sustaining 20 overs a day during The Ashes is another issue.
The ECB refused to reveal the exact nature of Barbados-born Archer’s surgery — it is believed to be the removal of a bone spur — and how long he is expected to be missing.
An England spokesman said: “Archer has been reviewed by a medical consultant in respect of his right elbow soreness.
“He will now proceed to surgery on Friday and further updates will be released in due course.”
Archer has missed nine of England’s last 15 Tests and is already out of the two-Test series against New Zealand next month.
If everything goes to plan, Archer might return by mid-August, which means he could play some of the five-Test series against India beginning on August 4.
The BCCI have asked the ECB to bring forward the final Test of that series — at Old Trafford on September 10 — to allow the IPL to be concluded in late September.
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But it is unlikely to happen as Lancashire have already sold out the first three days.
Meanwhile, opener Rory Burns made 64 for Surrey against Middlesex at The Oval — his fifth half-century on the trot.
But England team-mates Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes made ducks, as Surrey lost six wickets for seven runs.
Burns will open in the First Test against New Zealand on June 2 with Warwickshire’s Dom Sibley, who scored 43 from 120 balls against Essex in his first match for five weeks since breaking a finger.
