England Test captain Ben Stokes revealed he stopped drinking alcohol at the start of the year, believing it would aid his recovery from injury.
Stokes, 33, underwent surgery on his left hamstring in December, having torn it during the third Test against New Zealand.
Initially ruled out for at least three months, he has yet to play for Durham in the County Championship.
England’s international summer begins on 22 May with a Test match against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge.
Stokes sustained a similar injury during The Hundred last summer. He explained that his rehabilitation approach this time involved reflecting on his relationship with alcohol.
“After my first major injury, I remember the shock of it and after the initial adrenaline had stopped I was thinking, ‘How has this happened?’” Stokes said on the Untapped podcast, hosted by Spencer Matthews.
“[I thought] ‘We did have a bit of a drink four or five nights ago, could that have played a part?’ It wouldn’t have helped.
“Then I was like ‘OK, I need to start changing what I do’.”
Consequently, Stokes said he has not consumed alcohol since the start of January.
