{"id":2885,"date":"2026-04-15T12:45:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T12:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit"},"modified":"2026-04-15T12:45:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T12:45:03","slug":"ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit","title":{"rendered":"Ben Stokes Reveals How Close He Came to Serious Injury After Training Hit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ben Stokes says he feels \u201cquite lucky\u201d to be alive after a training scare left him with a broken cheekbone, describing how close he came to a much more severe outcome during a practice session at Durham in February. The England all-rounder was hit straight on the face by a cricket ball while working with academy players, an incident he called \u201cpretty nasty\u201d even though it ultimately ended with a manageable result compared to worst-case possibilities.<\/p>\n<h2>Key takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Stokes says the accident could have been far more serious, with the margin for difference described as just \u201ca couple of inches.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>The injury required significant facial surgery after he was struck during net practice at Durham in February.<\/li>\n<li>His recovery set back his seasonal plans, pushing back his return to action by more than a month.<\/li>\n<li>He expects to play County Championship matches before leading England against New Zealand at Lord\u2019s on June 4.<\/li>\n<li>Stokes played down any suggestion of a rift with Brendon McCullum, arguing that leadership styles can look different while remaining aligned.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How the training incident unfolded<\/h2>\n<p>Stokes recounted the moment of impact from that February net session, explaining that he \u201ccopped one straight in the face.\u201d He stressed that a small shift in where the ball landed could have changed everything, saying that just \u201ca couple of inches one way or the other\u201d he might not be in a position to speak during an interview.<\/p>\n<p>The 34-year-old then detailed the physical toll, admitting that the damage beneath his cheekbone was significant and required major facial surgery. Even with the seriousness of the blow, he maintained that the final outcome was the best possible version of a bad situation, adding that, \u201call things considered,\u201d he \u201cgot out quite lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Recovery timeline and England\u2019s next steps<\/h2>\n<p>Stokes said the injury disrupted his preparations for the season, delaying his return by over a month. He described the period afterwards as one where he had to \u201cgo back to the drawing board,\u201d rebuilding his fitness approach to prepare properly for England\u2019s demanding Test summer.<\/p>\n<p>With his recovery nearing completion, Stokes is expected to return through the County Championship in the lead-up to international duty. The next major milestone is England\u2019s Test against New Zealand at Lord\u2019s, scheduled for June 4, where he is set to take on a leadership role.<\/p>\n<p>Reflecting on the episode, he called it a \u201cpretty scary situation,\u201d while pointing to the fact that he is still here and everything is now \u201call right.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Leadership talk: Stokes on McCullum and England\u2019s direction<\/h2>\n<p>Beyond the injury, Stokes also addressed questions about his relationship with Brendon McCullum after England\u2019s 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia. He rejected claims of tension, saying the idea of a rift was a \u201cmassive overstatement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stokes argued that differences in approach are normal when two leaders operate in key roles. He acknowledged that their working dynamic \u201cmay look a little bit different\u201d moving forward, but insisted that the underlying objective remains the same: building a team capable of winning.<\/p>\n<p>As England prepare for a crucial home campaign, Stokes\u2019 comments\u2014shaped by both the physical challenge of his recovery and the pressures of leading a side\u2014underline a renewed emphasis on resilience, adaptability, and long-term success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ben Stokes says he feels \u201cquite lucky\u201d to be alive after a training scare left him with a broken cheekbone, describing how close he came&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Ben Stokes Injury Scare: IPL Training Hit Update","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Ben Stokes shares the chilling moment a training hit nearly caused serious injury\u2014detailing how close he came to worse damage after the ball struck his face.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ben Stokes Injury Scare: IPL Training Hit Update<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ben Stokes shares the chilling moment a training hit nearly caused serious injury\u2014detailing how close he came to worse damage after the ball struck his face.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ben Stokes Injury Scare: IPL Training Hit Update\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ben Stokes shares the chilling moment a training hit nearly caused serious injury\u2014detailing how close he came to worse damage after the ball struck his face.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"1Win India\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-15T12:45:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/might-here-ben-stokes-lucky-e20c.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1209\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"677\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Arjun Patel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Arjun Patel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Arjun Patel\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\"},\"headline\":\"Ben Stokes Reveals How Close He Came to Serious Injury After Training Hit\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-15T12:45:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit\"},\"wordCount\":557,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/might-here-ben-stokes-lucky-e20c.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"IPL\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit\",\"name\":\"Ben Stokes Injury Scare: IPL Training Hit Update\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/might-here-ben-stokes-lucky-e20c.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-15T12:45:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\"},\"description\":\"Ben Stokes shares the chilling moment a training hit nearly caused serious injury\u2014detailing how close he came to worse damage after the ball struck his face.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/might-here-ben-stokes-lucky-e20c.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/might-here-ben-stokes-lucky-e20c.webp\",\"width\":1209,\"height\":677},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ben Stokes Reveals How Close He Came to Serious Injury After Training Hit\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/\",\"name\":\"1Win India\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\",\"name\":\"Arjun Patel\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Arjun Patel\"},\"description\":\"Cricket analyst and sports writer with over 10 years of experience covering international and domestic matches. Specializes in match predictions, player performance analysis, and data-driven insights, with a strong focus on the Indian Premier League\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/author\\\/arjunpatel\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ben Stokes Injury Scare: IPL Training Hit Update","description":"Ben Stokes shares the chilling moment a training hit nearly caused serious injury\u2014detailing how close he came to worse damage after the ball struck his face.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ben Stokes Injury Scare: IPL Training Hit Update","og_description":"Ben Stokes shares the chilling moment a training hit nearly caused serious injury\u2014detailing how close he came to worse damage after the ball struck his face.","og_url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit","og_site_name":"1Win India","article_published_time":"2026-04-15T12:45:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1209,"height":677,"url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/might-here-ben-stokes-lucky-e20c.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Arjun Patel","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Arjun Patel","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit"},"author":{"name":"Arjun Patel","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e"},"headline":"Ben Stokes Reveals How Close He Came to Serious Injury After Training Hit","datePublished":"2026-04-15T12:45:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit"},"wordCount":557,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/might-here-ben-stokes-lucky-e20c.webp","articleSection":["IPL"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit","name":"Ben Stokes Injury Scare: IPL Training Hit Update","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/might-here-ben-stokes-lucky-e20c.webp","datePublished":"2026-04-15T12:45:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e"},"description":"Ben Stokes shares the chilling moment a training hit nearly caused serious injury\u2014detailing how close he came to worse damage after the ball struck his face.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/might-here-ben-stokes-lucky-e20c.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/might-here-ben-stokes-lucky-e20c.webp","width":1209,"height":677},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/ben-stokes-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-serious-injury-after-training-hit#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ben Stokes Reveals How Close He Came to Serious Injury After Training Hit"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#website","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/","name":"1Win India","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e","name":"Arjun Patel","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Arjun Patel"},"description":"Cricket analyst and sports writer with over 10 years of experience covering international and domestic matches. Specializes in match predictions, player performance analysis, and data-driven insights, with a strong focus on the Indian Premier League","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/author\/arjunpatel"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2885\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}