Ben Stokes says he initially feared he would miss the entire World Cup due to a hip injury, but is now fit for Saturday’s match against South Africa.

Five days before the tournament, Stokes sustained an injury in the gym, preventing him from playing in England’s first three matches.

According to the 32-year-old, he heard a “pop” and feared he wouldn’t play at all in India. However, he is expected to face the Proteas in a crucial match in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Stokes said, “I thought I was done hearing a pop.”

We were hoping it would be worse, but thankfully it wasn’t.”

On Thursday, Stokes batted for 30 minutes in the nets and participated in intense fielding drills.

Defending champions England have lost two matches and won one in his absence, putting their title defence in jeopardy.

To qualify for the semi-finals, Jos Buttler’s side will likely have to win all of their remaining matches if they lose to the Proteas.

The English were timid with the bat in their loss to Afghanistan on Sunday, as they had been in their opening game against New Zealand.

The England captain called for an aggressive approach after the defeat to Afghanistan, which helped them win the title under the previous captain, Eoin Morgan.

“Let’s do what we’re known for if we’re going to go down,” Stokes said.

We want to show the opposition what England is and what we have been known for.

Although we are a different team, we are in a different era, but we can build on that.

It’s not about holding onto the past or anything like that. It’s about making that go further and further.”