Sam Curran ruled out of English season after groin surgery

Sam Curran has been ruled out of the remainder of the English season with a groin injury, ending his hopes of a potential Test recall this summer. The injury has removed the Surrey all-rounder from contention for England selection this summer.

Curran is an England all-rounder who has been a regular in the white-ball setup and has played 24 Test matches, though he has not appeared in Test cricket since 2021. The 28-year-old Surrey player had been under consideration for a return to the Test side for the series against Pakistan as selectors looked to rebalance the team following the retirement of Ben Stokes. Selector Marcus North said Curran could have been picked for the ongoing first Test had he not been managing his fitness through The Hundred and added he would come into contention for the third Test on 9 September.

Further assessment of Curran's groin problem has shown he requires surgery. He is due to undergo an operation on Friday. The procedure rules him out for the remainder of the season with Surrey and also excludes him from England's white-ball matches against Sri Lanka in September.

Curran withdrew from this year's Indian Premier League in March because of the same groin issue. As MI London captain he missed one of his side's Hundred matches and did not bowl his full allocation in four of their other seven group games. Those fitness concerns had been managed during The Hundred prior to the decision to operate.

With Curran unavailable, and with Stokes retired and no other seam-bowling all-rounder in the mix, England chose not to select a frontline spinner for the first Test against Pakistan at Headingley. The selectors instead picked Dan Lawrence to bat at number six and to provide part-time off-spin as the side's balance.

England all-rounder Will Jacks, who performed a similar role in the Ashes last winter, is also absent from Surrey's squad for Thursday's County Championship match against Nottinghamshire. He underwent an operation to remove his appendix. His availability for the T20 and ODI series with Sri Lanka will be assessed.

The planned operation on Friday removes Curran from Surrey duties and England selection for the immediate fixtures and means he cannot be considered for England's third Test selection on 9 September.