England captain Ben Stokes insists he has ‘so much more left in this tank’ after being ruled out of ‘all cricket for at least three months’.

A statement from the ECB on Monday evening confirmed Stokes would be set for an extended spell on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury during the third Test against New Zealand in Hamilton.

Stokes, 33, will undergo surgery next month and miss at least two more as he recovers from the setback.

The all-rounder, who is set to lead England in a home five-match Test series against India next summer and in an Ashes tour of Australia this time next year, suffered a similar injury over the summer while playing in The Hundred.

‘Something else to overcome …go on then!’ Stokes posted on X.

‘I’ve got so much more left in this tank and so much more blood sweat and tears to go through for my team and this shirt.

‘There’s a reason I have a Phoenix permanently inked on my body. See you on the field to f*** some s*** up.’

Stokes was left out of England’s squads for the white-ball tour of India next month and the subsequent Champions Trophy due to the hamstring injury.

He was, however, set to play in next months’ SA20 in South Africa for MI Cape Town.

Stokes will now hope to regain his fitness before the start of the 2025 County Championship season, with his Durham side kick-starting their campaign against Nottinghamshire on April 4.

One of the best players of his generation, Stokes has scored more than 6,000 runs and taken over 200 wickets in 110 Test matches.

He has been just as influential in white-ball cricket, starring in England’s World Cup win in 2019 and the T20 World Cup win two years ago.

Stokes’ injury blow compounded England’s misery in the third Test against New Zealand, which they lost by 423 runs.

However, the tourists had already sealed a series win courtesy of two emphatic wins in the opening two Tests in Wellington and Christchurch.

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