I come back fitter than I was before I got injured: Ben Stokes on rehab and recovery

Stokes has made this vow as he has been out of action from county and country cricket after a hamstring tear during the final Test against New Zealand in December. In the coming months, England has two tough series lined up: a home series of five Tests against India, which will kickstart both sides' ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 campaign, and the away Ashes series against Australia towards the end of the year.

Since his surgery in January, the 33-year-old has been on "one of the longest rehab periods of his career," which could help him return in Tests "fitter than ever."

"I always work hard," Stokes said as quoted by Sky Sports.

"My ethos when I am injured is that I come back fitter than I was before I got injured."

"I have worked incredibly hard on all aspects of everything, from my cricket to fitness, and know I am going to be in a position when I am back on the field to potentially be in physically the best possible shape I have been in," he added.

Stokes' hamstring injury was a recurrence, having previously surfaced during the Hundred tournament last August. It kept him out of four successive Tests, three at home to Sri Lanka and one in Pakistan.

Towards the end of the year, he was challenged to be fit for the NZ tour, and his recovery was condensed, which contributed to his relapse. With a gap in the international calendar giving him enough time, Stokes has seized this opportunity to return to his full fitness.

"The first time I pulled my hamstring, there was such a small timeframe to try and get myself ready for that series against Pakistan," he added.

"To walk back on to the field after nine weeks with the hamstring tear I had was a pretty good effort, but there were days I had no interest in doing what I needed to do."

"That rehab period then looked a lot different to this period. We had to fast-track certain periods of a normal rehab with a hamstring just to pass me fit to play, whereas this time around the medical team and I said we are going to nail it because we have got the time absolutely."

"The time has allowed me not to have to get into the mindset of every day waking up and thinking about what I need to do to feel right in my head that I am fit. Those are the unseen things that people from outside don't necessarily see."

"It was a tough old slog and was very tiring and taxing, not just physically but also mentally, doing something every single day to try and get myself to the next level of my rehab. It does take it out of you; it was pretty much every day for about six weeks where I had to do something, three or four sessions a day, it was tough," he continued.

Stokes said that this time around, he had a lot more time to "slowly drip feed in bits of progression from walking, into fast walking, into running and then into bowling".

"It has not been anywhere near as taxing physically or mentally, that has been the big difference. I have definitely handled this period of injury and rehab a lot better than the first one."

"I am not fully through that yet, but we are at the back end of the four-month period, and I am excited to get back to playing this summer," he continued.

Before the home series against India, England will give themselves some game time with a one-off Test against Zimbabwe on May 22. Stokes also said that he was in touch with the head coach, Brendon McCullum, about his fitness and how he can rediscover his form to become one of the world's best again.

"I am 33, I don't want to expose myself to a situation where I am off the field when I don't have to be," Stokes said.

"I talk to Baz a lot about many different things, we have spoken about this kind of stuff and how he is going to help me better, how he is going to speak to me a lot more about this stuff. We have worked together for so long, we know each other inside out, and those discussions we have had over the last couple of months have been very good," he said.

"I feel great. Training and playing are completely different. No matter what you do at training, you cannot replicate the intensity your body is put through in a game. As excited as I am to get back on the field, I know it will be different to my training."

"But in terms of my role as a player, that full seamer, batting at six, trying to dominate every situation I find myself, whether I have got a bat or ball in my hand, is what I want to get back doing out on the field, on the biggest stage. I know I have done it before, it is something I am very confident in myself that I can do," he concluded.