The discussions about injury substitutions in Test cricket began soon after Rishabh Pant fractured his toe between India and England on the first day of the fourth Test.
The India and England camps were not on the same page regarding this, with India supporting the introduction of the new rule to avoid any cases of teams being left with 10 players in a five-day match.
However, England captain Ben Stokes did not take long to dismiss the idea , feeling there could be many loopholes a team could exploit if such a rule was introduced.
In the next Test, Chris Woakes suffered a shoulder dislocation on Day 1 of the final Test at the Oval. This time, England found themselves with their hands tied, able to field just 10 players for a majority of the match.
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Here's what Woakes had to say about the introduction of the substitutes, now that England has suffered from an injury in the series finale.
What did Chris Woakes say about injury substitutions in Tests?
During his interview with The Guardian, the 36-year-old backed his captain's point of potential grey areas and loopholes in the rule change.
"I’m with Stokesy, to be honest. Having played for 18 years, the game is what it is: you lose a player and as a team you have to find a way. It makes you more resilient and the team stronger. I do understand why people might think it’s needed for freak injuries like mine but there would be too many grey areas or loopholes," he emphasized.
The bowler had bowled 14 overs and dismissed KL Rahul during the first innings of the Oval Test but did not participate in the rest of the match, leaving captain Ollie Pope with only three fast bowlers to rotate.
However, Woakes did show incredible courage and determination during the final day of the Test, when England required 17 runs to win and came out to bat with one hand inside his jersey, in a sling.
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He did not face any deliveries but ran 4 runs to keep Gus Atkinson on the strike before the latter was eventually dismissed, with 7 runs still needed.
During the same interview, Woakes admitted of being in extreme pain while running between the wickets and feeling that his shoulder had popped out again.
What did Ben Stokes say about the injury substitutions in Test cricket?
Stokes came across as a strong critic of the idea to introduce the new substitution after the Manchester Test.
The England captain felt any fast bowler would show bruises and niggles if they were scanned in an MRI machine, and teams would use that as an excuse to play a fresher bowler.
"I think it's absolutely ridiculous that there's a conversation around an injury replacement. I think that there would just be too many loopholes for teams to be able to go through. You pick your XI for a game; injuries are part of the game," said Stokes.
"I completely understand the concussion replacement - player welfare, [and] player safety. But I think the conversation should just honestly stop around injury replacements because if you stick me in an MRI scanner, I could get someone else in straightaway," he added.
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"If you stick anyone else with an MRI scanner, a bowler is going to show, 'oh yeah, you've got a bit of inflammation around your knee; oh sweet, we can get another fresh bowler in'. I just think that conversation should be shut down and stopped," he concluded.
Stokes was notably ruled out of the fifth Test of the series after he was seen holding his shoulder on Day 5 of the Old Trafford Test, and Ollie Pope was named captain.
What's next for Chris Woakes?
As a Test specialist, Woakes will not worry about the next few months of England's white-ball schedule and will recover from his injury.
The bowler is expected to recover and tour Australia for the Ashes series, which begins on November 21 in Perth.