British sports hero left looking almost unrecognisable after brutal blow to the face with a cricket ball

Ben Stokes left fans shocked and concerned as he shared a gruesome photo on social media.

Stokes is currently in the UK recovering from a groin injury he suffered during the fifth Test of the Ashes series.

The England captain has been relatively quiet on social media since his return from Australia, but on Thursday afternoon he provided fans with a surprise.

Taking to his Instagram story, he shared a grizzly photo with the caption added: ‘You should see the state of the cricket ball,’ accompanied by a laughing emoji. 

In the snap, Stokes’ face looked battered and bruised, with a tissue coming out of his right nostril, while he had a black eye on his right eye – and cuts on the right side of his cheek and below his lip.

Stokes posed with a ‘call me hand’ emoji as he pulled a stern face, with it unclear as of yet what had happened. 

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT 

Stokes’ next playing assignment is not until the domestic season starts in April when he is likely to feature in a couple of County Championship games for Durham ahead of England’s summer Test series’ against New Zealand and Pakistan.

It was also announced last week that Stokes, alongside former England all-rounder Moeen Ali, will be part of the England Lions coaching staff for their series against Pakistan Shaheens in the United Arab Emirates later this month. 

Moeen and Stokes, who will continue his injury rehabilitation in the UAE, will assist head coach Andrew Flintoff for a three-match T20 series and five 50-over matches against Pakistan’s second string.

Meanwhile, speaking towards the end of England’s disastrous 4-1 Ashes defeat, Stokes expressed his desire to continue as captain alongside coach Brendon McCullum. 

‘We haven’t won here since 2010-11, and since then things have happened because people think we need to change things, but it has not really worked, has it?’, he said. 

‘There’s a lot of people who sit above me. Ashes tours in the past haven’t gone well. But if you do what we did four years ago, we’ll just end up back in the same situation.

‘There is no doubt in my mind that me and Brendon are the right people to carry on doing this for the near future.’

Stokes is pictured on Ashes duty last month – where England lost the series 4-1 to Australia

Stokes continued:  ‘I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the time I’ve worked with Brendon. I can’t see there being someone else who could take this team from where we are now to even bigger heights.

‘We’ve put so much time and effort into getting this team to where it is. And we know we want to get even more out of the group and individuals. We’re both pretty keen on carrying on doing what we are doing.

‘As captain and coach, we have to put our heads together and go: “What is it that we think we need to do to go to the next level?” 

‘Because, being perfectly honest, you look at how things have gone over the last year, and the results and the consistency haven’t quite been there from the first two-and-a-half years we were in charge.’