RR pacer Jofra Archer given green signal to resume 'light training' after hand surgery

Rajasthan Royals fast bowler Jofra Archer was given the green signal by his hand consultant to resume training, the England Cricket Board said in a release on Tuesday.

Archer, who is yet to join Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign, underwent surgery on March 29 following a freak accident at home. Archer suffered a cut to his hand while cleaning at his home in January shortly before flying to India to prepare for the Test series.

Earlier, it was revealed that throughout the India tour, the ECB's medical team managed the injury and it did not impact his availability. A fragment of glass was removed during the operation to his middle finger on his right hand in March.

The ECB release further revealed that Archer is set to begin "light training" this week and will be closely working with the Sussex and England men's medical teams.

"It is hoped that he will be able to up his intensity with his bowling from next week. A further update on his elbow injury will be provided once he has returned to bowling to assess the effectiveness of his recent injection," the release read further.

However, the board is yet to make a decision regarding Archer's possible return date.

Archer topped the wickets charts for RR last season, picking 20 wickets in 14 games. Overall, he was seventh on the leading wicket-takers list in the IPL 2020. He had also chipped in with the bat, scoring 113 runs in 10 innings.

It was known that Archer could miss the majority of the IPL 2021 edition and which is why RR went for Chris Morris, who eventually was bought at a record price of INR 16.25 crore.

RR kickstarted their IPL 2021 campaign with a loss. They lost to Punjab Kings by four runs on Monday in Mumbai.