England fast bowler Jofra Archer has been cleared to re-join the squad ahead of the third and final Test against West Indies after a second negative test for COVID-19.
The pacer was forced to isolate for five days after he admitted breaking the team's bio-secure protocols ahead of the recently-concluded second Test against West Indies, following which he was withdrawn from the squad.
The 25-year-old was also fined an undisclosed amount and given an official written warning after his unsanctioned trip to Brighton between the first and second Tests.
As per reports, Archer spent the five days totally isolated in his hotel room at Old Trafford, with no face-to-face c
ontact with anyone. He underwent two COVID-19 tests during that period, both of which were negative.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes had called for support to Archer, saying he needs full support of his teammates following his bio-secure protocol breach which led to his dropping.
"We really need to be there to support Jofra right now. Obviously he's a big talking point and he is by himself because of everything else going on at the moment," Stokes was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
"It's making sure that it doesn't feel like he's by himself. The worst thing we could do right now as a team is just leave him and see him in five or six days' time.
England head coach Chris Silverwood agreed with Stokes, saying "Archer is a massive part of the group".
"At times like this people are very, very tough and you can feel like you are all by yourself, but I don't think anybody is going to allow that to happen," he said.
"Jofra's a massive part of this group, as everybody is. If it was anybody else bar Jofra it would be exactly the same."
"As far as I'm concerned, he's been through a disciplinary meeting. He's very aware of the consequences now of his actions and he's very remorseful about what he's done," England captain Joe Root said.
"Once that disciplinary is gone through and it's been made very aware of what his punishment is, I think now is time for us to look at it in terms of him being available for selection," he added.
England demolished West Indies by 113 runs to level the three-match series at 1-1 on Monday. The third and final Test of the series will be played at Manchester, from Friday, July 24.
