English all-rounder Ben Stokes’ hopes of returning to Test cricket soon, took a huge blow after he was ruled out for the remainder of the Test series against Pakistan.

The all-rounder, who was making a comeback in the second Test match at Old Trafford after recovering from a knee injury, suffered a calf injury while bowling and after being assessed by the physio was forced to leave the field. The 25-year-old had already missed two Tests, and a limited-overs series, against Sri Lanka this summer because of knee surgery. He was also ruled out of the third Test against Pakistan. He had undergone a scan on his injured calf last week to ascertain the extent of the damage and reportedly will be out of action for close to six weeks now.

The England and Wales Cricket Board(ECB) confirmed on Wednesday morning that Stokes will not recover in time for next week’s final match of the four-match series at The Kia Oval. However, the ECB said that the allrounder might play in England’s limited-overs series against Pakistan, which begins at the end of this month. The five-match ODI series will be followed by a one-off T20 on September 7.

The ECB statement said: ‘Stokes will continue his rehabilitation with the England medical team during the Edgbaston Test this week.

‘He will now work towards being available for selection during the Royal London one-day international series, starting later this month.’

ECB also confirmed that leg-spinner Adil Rashid had been released to play in Yorkshire’s Championship match against Warwickshire, starting at Headingley on Thursday. Rashid and Jake Ball were the unused players in England’s squad of 13 for Edgbaston.