New ankle op for Flintoff - Sport in brief - Evening Standard
       

New ankle op for Flintoff

England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff is likely to miss the rest of the series against West Indies after it was decided he should have further ankle surgery.

Flintoff had been hoping to prove his fitness for the third npower Test at Old Trafford next week but withdrew from Lancashire's LV County Championship match against Sussex.

The 29-year-old suffered further discomfort during practice on Tuesday and went for further assessment with the England medical staff.

ECB medical officer Dr Nick Peirce said: "Andrew Flintoff has undergone rigorous fitness testing over the past two days, most recently 30 minutes of net bowling on Tuesday, but has reacted to the testing with further discomfort in his left ankle.

"Despite intense conservative treatment and rehabilitation with England and Lancashire's medical teams, Andrew's ankle has continued to cause him discomfort when bowling at full capacity.

"As a consequence he will undergo an exploratory arthroscopy on his left ankle over the weekend."

England will learn more about the length of time Flintoff will be sidelined after the operation.

Flintoff has twice had surgery for unrelated problems on the same left ankle in the past three years.

Flintoff said: "Obviously I'm bitterly disappointed to face another operation on my ankle as I really thought I was making progress with the injury over the past few weeks.

"I've been working really hard on my game and the rest and rehabilitation appeared to be helping the ankle but after giving it a strong workout this week, it now seems that an operation is the only option."

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