Archer has been on a full central contract for nearly six years but stress reactions in his right elbow and lower back have been chiefly responsible for his absence from Tests since winning the last of his 13 caps in February 2021.
Established again in the white-ball ranks in a carefully orchestrated comeback, a spanner was thrown in the works for a Test return when Archer injured his right thumb at this year’s Indian Premier League.
Out of this week’s opener against India at Headingley, he has nevertheless been tipped to feature later in the five-match Test series and Broad can understand why England might roll the dice with Archer this summer.
“I’m assuming England have had him on a red-ball contract for a few years since he last made an impact,” Broad told the PA news agency. “They’ll be wanting to get some repayment out of that.
“I’m sure he’ll play a part at some stage if he’s fit. It will just be making sure his body is hard enough to be able to do the job.
“That is a really, really difficult question to answer because you can only really get match fit for a Test match by playing red-ball cricket.
“It will be a huge gamble. If we see him in whites for England this summer, there will be a lot of people chewing fingernails and praying a bone doesn’t crack.”
Archer’s last first-class outing was four years ago but he has been pencilled in for Sussex’s County Championship match against Durham on June 22 to check his readiness for Test cricket.
He has shown glimpses in recent months of the dazzling 2019 World Cup and Ashes form that marked him out as a generational talent but Broad urged caution about expecting his former England team-mate to hit those heights again.
“It’s impossible to know,” Broad, who will be a pundit for the series as a Sky Sports cricket expert, added.
“He didn’t look match fit at the Champions Trophy. He bowled three or four nice overs and then struggled. He seemed to develop more of a match intensity at the IPL, which is mentally taxing but you’re only bowling four overs.
“When you come into Test match cricket and suddenly your distance is 50km over five days, it’s a completely different question.
“Because he’s had so many injury setbacks, any time he pulls on an England shirt, it’s a massive occasion for him. He will just look to be having a big impact any time he gets on the field.”
:: Watch all five England India Test matches live on Sky Sports Cricket and NOW from June 20th.
