England are using some unique methods to keep Ben Stokes fighting fit

Russian Twists, R.I.C.E and fasting: The secrets Superman Ben Stokes is using to ensure he’ll be flying again at Old Trafford for England

• England have been using some unique tricks to keep Ben Stokes fit in the Ashes  
• He has sustained several tough injuries, but has battled through them this series
• Follow Mail Sport on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@mailsport

After a round of hugs for his Headingley heroes, Ben Stokes took a moment in the England dressing room and admitted he felt more drained mentally than physically by the three-wicket win over Australia.

It had certainly been a week in which abnormal levels of emotional energy had been spent. Team-mates reckoned there were more expletives in Stokes’s passionate pre-match speech, driven by the events of the second Test at Lord’s, than any of his previous 15 addresses as England captain.

And so, he heads back to the North East for a few days with his family — son Layton and daughter Libby were in Leeds for Sunday’s dramatic finale — to recharge his batteries before reporting to Manchester on Sunday as England attempt to make this an epic Ashes summer.

Thousands of supporters will, of course, be concerned by the impact on Stokes’s body of playing nine days of Test cricket in 12. Him, not so much.

Yes, he has hobbled, limped, grimaced and groaned through it all, producing two more unforgettable innings of 155 and 80 along the way.

England are going to some unique measures to ensure Ben Stokes remains fighting fit for the next Ashes Test at Old Trafford

England clinched a thrilling three-wicket win against Australia at the weekend with Mark Wood (left) and Chris Woakes (right) helping them to the victory

Stokes (left) has been suffering with pain in his left knee throughout the series thanks to a tendonitis issue 

As Oliver Holt brilliantly put it in these pages, Stokes has become England’s version of the black knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. ‘I’ve had worse,’ he appears to say, every time the bout of tendonitis in his left knee slows him or a Mitchell Starc-induced blow to the midriff knocks him off his feet.

But those close to him say he has come to accept this is the way it will be for him now in Test cricket. He must manage the pain. There is no miracle cure for patellar tendonitis. Just plenty of RICE between matches (rest, ice, compression, elevation).

This week he will stick with that and maintain the abdominal exercises such as Russian twists, planks and crunches while moving into a time-restricted diet.

When at home with the family, he fasts with wife Clare outside of strict eating hours, a discipline that coincides with a more relaxed training schedule.

Like the rest of England’s bowlers, he will also use the portable Game Ready compression therapy system that helps joints recover from strains post-Test, and will receive massage therapy at home club Durham to further ease aches and pains.

The glute twinge incurred while over-stretching for a stroke in the first innings at Leeds is not thought to be anything serious, and what role he is able to play in the penultimate match against Australia will be judged once the teams arrive at Old Trafford.

He also suffered a bruising blow on Sunday, after Scott Boland hit him with the ball

Stokes (bottom left) has been plagued with the knee injury since 2012, and felt it get worse during a Test at Headingley back in 2016 

Follow Mail Sport on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@mailsport

Yet patellar tendonitis is only part of the problem in his knee, the battleground of Stokes’s body since 2012. He was just 20 when issues first flared: a partial tear of the cartilage persuading the ECB to pull him out of an England Lions fixture against West Indies in Northampton and book him in for surgery.

When he got to the Fortius Clinic in London, Andy Williams, the consultant, advised that an operation was not preferable, explaining that while the tear had created a flap of cartilage which would irritate from time to time, it was manageable.

But he has suffered plenty of other issues to boot, including toe and glute injuries this year, broken fingers a broken collar bone and a broken hand

It was not until four years later, in 2016 — after he felt the knee lock as he threw the ball from slip to mid-off during a Steven Finn over of the Headingley Test against Sri Lanka — that he went under the knife.

Typically of Stokes, when doctors told him he would be out for eight weeks, he set a goal of seven, using ice and compression machines while sleeping in a bid to make the Lord’s Test that opened the home series against Pakistan. 

He made the deadline, of course. But the selectors erred on the side of caution, holding him back until the second Test in Manchester.

Seven years on, the after-affects linger as the removal of articular cartilage causes bone to grind on bone, and those who have endured even the most basic knee repairs know of the random discomforts that follow.

Part of Stokes’s pain management earlier this year was to receive a cortisone injection before heading to the Indian Premier League. 

And it was during his spell at the IPL that Stokes got himself into prime condition for this international summer.

With Chennai Super Kings unwilling to select him as a specialist batter, he used an extended period on the sidelines to throw himself into a fitness regime of ‘prehab’ work, making his body as robust as possible.

It focused on the hamstrings as they secure the knees and support the back when bowling.

He had shown a similar dedication, albeit with an aerobic focus, in the build-up to the World Cup-winning summer of 2019 when he and Jos Buttler were the fastest in the extra-curricular 2km runs.

Stokes received a cortisone injection before the Indian Premier League season commenced and it was here that he got himself in prime condition for the Ashes

Between matches, the England captain (right) will rest, use ice, put compression on his injuries and elevate them too

He has also been fasting while completing a rigourous series of core exercises including Russian Twists and crunches

As someone not particularly keen on Indian food, he also asked the franchise’s chef to change his diet plan, focusing on lean meats, vegetables, and protein shakes. 

When in full training mode like that, he is likely to cheat with treats like Yorkie raisin and biscuit, Revels and Haribo Tangfastic sweets.

England’s selection for Headingley was influenced by the fact Stokes is no longer able to contribute in all-rounder capacity in back-to-back matches. 

He sent down a 12-over spell at Lord’s, and it will be a suck-it-and-see approach used in the nets in Manchester as to whether he will return to bowling.

One thing is certain. If it is even remotely possible and his team need him, he will do it.

Follow Mail Sport on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@mailsport

Source: Read Full Article