Chennai Super Kings‘ hopes of making a late dash to the IPL 2026 playoffs have suffered another significant setback with allrounder Jamie Overton returning to England due to a right thigh injury.

CSK did not specify how long Overton would be away for – or whether he was out for the rest of the season – but it is doubtful that he will return for their remaining three league games. They play an away game against Lucknow Super Giants on Friday.

“Jamie Overton has a right thigh injury and will be returning to the UK for further assessment and management,” CSK said on social media on Wednesday night.

Overton posted on his Instagram story: “Gutted to be heading home early before the job’s done.”

Overton is currently CSK’s second highest wicket-taker this season with 14 wickets at an average of 17.78 and economy rate of 18.89. He was the Player of the Match for taking 3 for 36 in CSK’s previous game, a five-wicket victory against LSG at Chepauk on May 11.

Hours before the Overton news emerged, CSK had announced they had signed Karnataka allrounder Macneil Noronha as a replacement for the injured fast bowler Ramakrishna Ghosh, who suffered a broken foot on his IPL debut.

They had also lost fast bowler Nathan Ellis to a hamstring injury before IPL 2026 began, and then lost left-arm quick Khaleel Ahmed (quadricep injury) and No. 3 batter Ayush Mhatre (hamstring injury) during the season. Middle-order batter Dewald Brevis had missed the first three games of the season, all of which CSK lost, with a side strain, and MS Dhoni and Australian quick Spencer Johnson are yet to play a match in IPL 2026.

Despite severe injury troubles, CSK are fifth in the points table with 12 points after 11 games and are still in the running for the playoffs.