The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Flintoff may be fit for T20 WC

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Flintoff may be fit for T20 WC

— Photo: AFP

WILL I MAKE IT? The ECB expects England allrounder Andrew Flintoff, who had a cartilage tear repaired, to be fine before the T20 World Cup in June.

London: England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff should be fit for the start of the World Twenty20 in June, following surgery on his right knee that forced him out of the Indian Premier League.

Flintoff had a cartilage tear repaired after he played just two games for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, which is being held in South Africa because of security concerns in India.

The ECB says it expects the 31-year-old all-rounder will be fine for the start of the World Twenty20 on June 2.

Meanwhile, the all-rounder’s England teammate Paul Collingwood has said playing in the Indian Premier League should not be blamed for Flintoff’s injury breakdown as he could have picked up the knee problem anywhere. Flintoff, who was bought by the Chennai Super Kings for a whopping $1.55 million, returned home on Friday from South Africa for surgery.

“The critics have been saying he should never have come to the IPL in the first place, but that is just playing devil’s advocate. The fact is that the injury could have happened at any time, and this has been a valuable learning experience for all the England players,” Collingwood wrote in his column in The Telegraph.

However, Collingwood, the front-runner to lead England in the Twenty20 cricket World Cup in June, admitted that Flintoff’s injury is a big blow to the side. “Friday brought less happy news about Andrew Flintoff.

His injury is a devastating blow, both for himself and for the England team, as we’ll have to do without him in the Tests against the West Indies,” he wrote. — PTI

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