I may never play again: Flintoff

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: August 31, 2009

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London: England’s talismanic all-rounder Andrew Flintoff admitted in an interview on Sunday that he may never play cricket again following surgery on a long-standing knee injury.

Flintoff, who retired from test cricket as England regained the Ashes with victory in the final Test against Australia, underwent exploratory arthroscopic surgery on his right knee this week and expects to be laid up for several months.

“There is a possibility I may not play again,” the 31-year-old told the News of the World weekly.”It’s something I’m going to have to be prepared for in case the operation is not as successful as I hope. There’s a question mark in my mind about whether I have played my last game until I know how the operation has turned out.”

“I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t crossed my mind, but the success rate for an operation like this is pretty good. The bottom line is that if it doesn’t work, there’s nothing I can do about it. But I don’t want my career to end like this. My Test career ended with a high by England winning the Ashes and I’d like to finish my one-day career by winning the World Cup,” he said.

The Lancashire star had decided to quit test cricket because of his knee injury after the Ashes so that he could concentrate on his ODI and Twenty20 career. “The day after the Ashes win I went for a scan, which confirmed my knee problem had got worse. I was really struggling towards the end of the final Test.”

He said the next few weeks would be crucial for his recovery, and he wasn’t allowed to put any weight on his knee. “I will see the specialist in a couple of weeks and then have another eight-week check-up. It’s only then we’ll know the extent of where I’m up to.”

“I have set myself a target of returning for the tour to Bangladesh, which is from mid-February to the middle of March, but whether that’s realistic or not, I’m not sure,” Flintoff added.

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