English pacer Jofra Archer will return home from the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) with immediate effect to focus on his rehabilitation, the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Tuesday.
Archer, who has been replaced by Chris Jordan in the Mumbai Indians squad, will return to the UK this week and will work on his rehab with the ECB medical department and Sussex County Cricket Club, respectively.
"Archer has been recovering from right elbow surgery. However, pushing through the discomfort whilst recently playing, hoping it will settle, has proven challenging. Therefore, it has been agreed for him to return to the UK for a period of rest and rehabilitation to give him the best opportunity for a full recovery," the ECB statement read.
The paceman has played five for MI this season and has struggled to make an impact, taking two wickets and conceding 9.50 runs per over.The 28-year-old, who made his return to international cricket earlier this year after a lengthy injury lay-off, did feature in Mumbai's opening game of the season before being sidelined for the next four games due to soreness in his elbow.
The injury ensured that he kept being in and out of the playing XI and also forced him to fly to Belgium for minor surgery.Jordan, who has been picked by MI for INR 2 Crore as Archer's replacement, went unsold at December's auction. He has played 28 IPL games thus far with a tally of 27 wickets.
After making his IPL debut in 2016, Jordan has played for Chennai Super Kings, Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad.The speedster has represented England in 87 T20Is and has scalped 96 T20I wickets.