Ben Stokes shoulder injury in IPL leaves him doubtful for England's Champions Trophy campaign

Ben Stokes has given England an injury scare just five weeks before their Champions Trophy campaign begins on 1 June.

The 25-year-old suffered a grade-one muscle tear in his right shoulder while bowling in Rising Pune Supergiant's win over the Mumbai Indians on Monday (24 April).

Stokes played on for the rest of the game as he earned man of the match, his second in three Indian Premier League (IPL) appearances, but missed his side's seven-wicket defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday.

While there is a chance that the all-rounder, who became the most expensive foreign player in the IPL after joining Rising Pune Supergiant for Rs 145m (£1.73m, $2.16m), can return to action on Monday against the Gujarat Lions, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are keeping tabs on the injury.

With talk of Stokes only batting – and not bowling –against the Lions to avoid aggravating his shoulder, ECB medical staff will likely urge caution against his participation with the Champions Trophy just over a month away.

Stokes was expected to miss out on the latter half of the IPL campaign anyway as he was expected back to England in May, along with Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes, to prepare for their ODI warm-up series against South Africa that begins on 24 May.

With England having never won the competition before, this year's campaign represents a great chance at doing so and having a fit and firing Stokes will help them even further in achieving that goal.