England all-rounder Chris Woakes breathed a sigh of relief as he was able to move his arm a little better and opted against undergoing surgery, following a shoulder injury during the fifth and final Test against India at the Oval. Woakes, who sustained the injury on Day 1 of the Oval Test while diving to save a boundary, was ruled out of the remainder of the fixture but bravely came out to bat on the final day with his side needing 17 runs to win, having just one wicket left in the kitty.
“Certainly good news for me. That’s the best way to look at it," Woakes, who came out to bat with a sling, didn't have one while speaking on Sky Sports in the pre-match show for the Hundred game on Thursday at Lord's. Woakes acknowledged that a lot of work was still to be done but he was glad just to be out of the sling.
“Obviously, out of the sling and feel like I can move it a lot better now, which is good two weeks down the line. I suppose once you get a little bit more movement into it, it feels a little bit more normal. But still a lot of work to do," he added while mentioning that rehab and full recovery would be his main focus, with one eye on the Ashes series in the fall later this year.
“Going to try and (stay) focused on the rehab and get it as strong as possible. Ideally, not for surgery for now, but we’ll see how that goes and hopefully we can get it nice and strong again," the pacer further said.
Woakes will be out of action for a certain period of time. The 36-year-old was scheduled to link up with the Welsh Fire for his first season with the Cardiff-based side in the Hundred; however, following the injury, he was ruled out of the competition and 2025's leading wicket-taker in international cricket, Matt Henry, replaced him in the squad.
