Jos Buttler had surgery on his left hamstring on October 12, 2026, and now faces a lengthy lay-off. No timeframe for his return has been provided by the medical team.
Buttler, 36, shared the news through an Instagram post on Monday, October 12, appearing on a hospital bed with his left leg in a brace and giving a thumbs up.
He wrote in the caption, "Succesful [sic] surgery and on the road to recovery," and added, "Feeling more motivated than ever!"
The hamstring problem first surfaced on September 24, 2026, when England lost the second ODI against Sri Lanka at Headingley. Buttler left the field after being hurt mid-innings but returned briefly to bat on before eventually pulling up again. He had made 69 from 49 balls in that knock, hitting five sixes, before the injury ended his involvement.
Which assignments could Buttler miss because of the surgery?
Buttler had already been withdrawn from England's tri-series assignment in Pakistan before the operation, with the touring party set to leave later this week. The surgery on October 12, 2026, now casts doubt over several further commitments across the coming months.
The ECB was scheduled to name its squad for the Australia white-ball tour on October 13, 2026, and Buttler appears certain to be absent from that series in November. His franchise contract with Durban's Super Giants for the SA20, a competition that opens on January 17, 2027, is also now uncertain given that no recovery date has been set.
Notably, on the same day as his operation, the ECB confirmed one-year contract extensions for both Buttler and leg-spinner Adil Rashid. Buttler's revised deal will run out ahead of the 2027 50-over World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in South Africa.
What form had Buttler shown before the injury struck?
Buttler had been producing some of the most consistent white-ball batting of his career in the period leading up to the Headingley match. Across nine white-ball internationals after the T20 World Cup, he accumulated 466 runs, a sequence that included the 69-ball knock at Headingley that ended with him leaving the field.
Earlier in 2026, Buttler contributed 87 runs as England reached the semi-final of the T20 World Cup. At domestic level, he captained Manchester Super Giants to the Hundred title and became the first male cricketer to reach 15,000 career T20 runs, a landmark that underlined his standing in the shortest format.
This is not the first occasion Buttler has been troubled by his left hamstring. A comparable injury to the same area kept him sidelined during the 2024 IPL season, and the recurrence is understood to be a concern for the England medical staff. No official statement on the nature or extent of the surgical procedure has been released.
