Jofra Archer's fitness situation 'concern' for England ahead of Ashes, says Andrew Strauss

Former England captain Andrew Strauss has opened up on Jofra Archer's fitness situation, saying it will be a big loss for the hosts if the fast bowler misses out on The Ashes.

After being out of action for nearly 22 months due to back and elbow issues, Archer returned to competitive cricket earlier this year in January. He featured in SA20 League and also for England during their tour of Bangladesh in March.

At present, Archer is with the Mumbai Indians (MI) playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. MI bought Archer last year despite knowing he wouldn't be available for the season. Archer finally made his MI debut in the ongoing tournament, but has sat out for most of the fixtures due to the reoccurring elbow issue.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, Strauss said Archer's fitness could be a "concern" for Ben Stokes-led England ahead of The Ashes, which is due to go underway on June 16 at Edgbaston, Birmingham. The five-match series will go on till July 31.

"It has to be (a concern). Without knowing the details of it, it's obviously hard to speculate. That elbow has been troublesome for a long period now, a number of different injuries with it. It's easy to be over cautious, and perhaps that's what is happening now, but he would be a significant loss if he wasn't there for the Ashes," said Strauss.

It was earlier reported that Archer took a break from IPL 2023 to fly to Belgium, where he underwent a procedure on the troubling elbow. However, Archer took to Twitter to strongly react to the report.

"Putting out an article without knowing the facts & without my consent is crazy. Whoever the reporter is shame on you , an already worrying and troubling time for a player and you exploit it for your personal gain, it's people like you that are the problem," tweeted Archer.

During the 2019 Ashes, which ended in a 2-2 draw in England, Archer was one of the best bowlers, picking up 22 wickets at an average of 20.27.

'England are currently playing mind-blowing cricket'

As England are aiming to retain the Urn for the first time since 2015, Strauss heaped praise on the side, saying they are playing "mind-blowing" cricket under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.

"The style of cricket England have been playing over the last 12 months, it has been phenomenal to watch, mind-blowing actually. And obviously, they have the greatest stage of all to show whether they can do it against a really good team in Australia.

"It is going to be a tough series I think, two teams that will go hammer and tongs against each other. I think it's going to be compelling viewing, really exciting," added Strauss.