Monday 23 May 2016 6:17 pm

England call on Woakes as fears grow over Stokes injury

Sports Editor

Warwickshire's Chris Woakes has been drafted into the England squad for this week’s second Test against Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street amid fears that Ben Stokes faces a lengthy absence.

All-rounder Stokes hurt his left knee while bowling during last week’s emphatic first-Test win and is due to see a specialist on Tuesday to determine the severity of the injury.

He will definitely be unavailable when England resume their series with Sri Lanka on Friday, but there are concerns the Durham 24-year-old could miss the third and final Test and possibly the limited-overs contests that follow it.

Woakes, who has six Test caps, and Nottinghamshire paceman Jake Ball, who is yet to play for England but was in the squad at Headingley last week, are the contenders to replace Stokes and both will join up with the rest of the 12-man squad on Tuesday, having played for their counties on Monday.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, could include wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Perera after a provisional doping ban was lifted and he was cleared of all wrongdoing by the International Cricket Council.

Chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya said: “Kusal will join the team as soon as possible and acclimatise, so he can do some serious work with the bat.”