England captain Ben Stokes will play no part in the early stages of the County Championship season with Durham as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.
Stokes is making strong progress from the issue he sustained bowling on the Test tour of New Zealand late last year and has trained with his county after undergoing surgery.
The 33-year-old completed shuttle runs at Durham’s media day on Monday and Chester-le-Street head coach Ryan Campbell says the all-rounder will “do whatever it takes” to be fit for England’s opening Test of the summer, against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge from May 22.
Stokes’ red-ball team then welcome India for a five-match series from June 20 before heading to Australia for The Ashes between November and January.
Stokes showcased his fitness in an Instagram video recently, highlighting a big step in his recovery
Campbell also expects England seamer Brydon Carse to be absent for Durham as he battles back from a toe injury that forced him out of the Champions Trophy in February and March.
He said: “At this stage, they’re probably not likely to play for us. My expectation is that it’ll be zero – anything else is an added bonus. The facts are that they need to get up and running by the time the Test matches start.
“What we know about Stokesy is that he’s here nearly every single day working his butt off. The guy had hamstring surgery and was in the next day lifting weights, which I couldn’t believe.
“He sets the bar, wherever he is. He’s such a hard-working bloke and he’ll do whatever it takes to be up and running for England, which is really exciting for England fans.
“For Durham fans, if he happens to play a game or two along the way, great. If he doesn’t, I know he’ll be checking the scores and ringing me to tell me what we should and shouldn’t be doing.”
Watch England’s home summer live on Sky Sports, starting with the four-day Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge in Nottingham from May 22. Stream cricket and more with NOW.
