England right-handed batter Jordon Cox has received his first international call-up, despite having just undergone an appendix operation, to play in the forthcoming three-match Test series against Sri Lanka.

Cox reflected on the procedure that may have ended his career; he was nominated to the 14-man team after Zak Crawley's tragic finger injury.

"I was in hospital for three hours. At midnight, they were like, 'we need to operate - now.' The surgeon told me it was going to be an eight-to-twelve week process. That would have ruled me out of the Hundred, which was quite upsetting,” Cox said.

He was advised by doctors that he would require two to three months for a complete recovery. Nevertheless, he was thrust back into action as a member of the Oval Invincibles for the Hundred Men's tournament. Cox learned of his selection to the English Test squad when he received a missed call while out for his morning stroll with his girlfriend in Battersea Park.

Problems have arisen throughout Cox's comeback to the cricket field. Since returning to the field, he has participated in two games, recording 29 runs scored, an average of 14.50, and a strike-rate of 93.54. He recognizes that he is still experiencing some pain in the area of his hamstring.

"One of the stitches hadn't dissolved yet, so it's still pulling on my hamstring. It feels like every time I overextend that muscle, there's a little 'ping' but I've been to have an MRI scan and the surgeons have said it's not going to do any further harm," he said.

Earlier this year, Cox set his sights on England's T20 International and One-Day International series against Australia.

"I definitely didn't think the call was going to be for the Test side," he told ESPNcricinfo. "I thought I was a lot closer to the white-ball side of things - to get a call for, hopefully, all three formats would be pretty awesome."