“By chance, our medical team were at the ground doing simulations. Suddenly, they had a real emergency to deal with. Robbie hit the ball hard. Players shouted out a warning but Stokesy ended up turning his head towards the ball. Scottie Borthwick, his great mate, drove him to hospital and our physio went as well.
“I’ll tell you this because Stokesy never would. He phoned Robbie Bowman from his hospital and told him not to worry. He’d have known that Robbie would have been beside himself but Ben said it was his fault. That sums up the sort of bloke Stokesy is.”
Bowman, who was born in Surrey, made four appearances for Durham in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup last summer and was a regular for their second team.
Stokes has not played white-ball cricket for England since the 50-over World Cup in 2023, and is not involved in their squad for the T20 World Cup, which starts this weekend.
His next international appearance is likely to come in the first Test of England’s home series against New Zealand in June, though he may play for Durham in the County Championship before then.
“Ben has been looking good when batting in the nets,” Campbell added. “He has already indicated that he intends playing three or four County Championship matches before that Test match.”
“It’s not my decision [but] I’m sure if something ever comes to it, I’ll be asked my opinion and he’ll be getting my full support and backing,” Stokes said. “I absolutely love working with Baz. He’s a great man and he’s a very, very, very good coach.”
Feb 6, 2026, 1015 GMT – This story was updated to include further details of how Stokes suffered his injuries.
