Ben Stokes has described himself as “devastated” after being sidelined with a calf injury.
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Ben Stokes tore his right calf muscle during England’s series-levelling 330-run win against Pakistan.
A scan revealed the extent of Stokes’s injury and the 25-year-old’s fitness will be reviewed by the England medical team next week, with the squad assembling in Birmingham on Monday.
Stokes walked off the field midway into his sixth over in the second innings of the Old Trafford Test against Pakistan due to a calf injury.
This is Stokes’ third noteworthy injury in the past nine months.
He missed two subsequent matches in that series victory, and the four one-day internationals and a Twenty20 that followed, before returning at Old Trafford.
Meanwhile Finn and Ball appear to be vying for the spot vacated by Stokes in a four-man seam attack.
Alternatively, the Yorkshire leg-spinner may yet be granted his maiden Test on home soil – having played only in the United Arab Emirates so far, in England’s series defeat against Pakistan last winter.
The third Test starts on Wednesday, August 3.
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England’s 13-man squad for the third Test against Pakistan: Alastair Cook, Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Gary Ballance, Jake Ball, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, James Vince and Chris Woakes.
