Ben Stokes has injections in knee before IPL campaign with Chennai Super Kings

Fitness of England Test captain being closley monitored ahead of T20 tournament and this summer's Ashes series

Ben Stokes will start the Indian Premier League playing as a specialist batsman. Sportzpics for BCCI

Ben Stokes has had cortisone injections in his left knee ahead of his participation in this year's Indian Premier League.

The England Test captain struggled for fitness during the recent red-ball series in New Zealand, especially in the final match in Wellington when he bowled just two overs in their thrilling one-run defeat.

Stokes has started training with IPL side Chennai Super Kings, who signed him for a bumper £1.6 million in December and have been liaising with the England and Wales Cricket Board's medical staff over his conditioning and workload.

“The physios from Chennai and the ECB are working pretty closely together. This franchise is very professional and works very closely with all the national boards,” Chennai batting coach Mike Hussey said.

“He's ready to go as a batsman from the start, the bowling might be wait and see. I know he had his first very light bowl this week since he had his injections in his knee.

“My understanding is he won't be bowling much at all in the first few games of the tournament, or it might be a few weeks, I'm not 100 per cent sure. But hopefully we'll get him bowling at some stage in the tournament.”

Stokes underwent a scan on his return from the New Zealand trip and, while nothing concerning came back in the results, it was decided an injection would be given to help him manage ongoing discomfort in the joint.

And England head coach Brendon McCullum has made it clear his captain's readiness to lead the charge against Australia in the Ashes this summer would not be jeopardised by his time in India.

“From an Australian perspective I'm going to hope he bowls 20 or 30 overs in nets. We'll be running him into the ground and I'll be making sure he does extra weight sessions and run throughs to put pressure on that body,” he said with a smile.

“I'm joking obviously. I want a fit Ben Stokes playing his best cricket at the Ashes. I want both teams at their best, going hard at it and I think it will be an unbelievable series to watch.

“He's going to be huge for us [at Chennai] too, particularly if we can get him bowling. Having those all-rounders is really important. He's only had a couple of net sessions and looks to be hitting the ball really well. That's really exciting.

“I can't wait and I'm sure Stokesy is going to absolutely love it. That's the thing with those big players, they generally like a big stage and perform their best on it.”