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Flintoff to be operated upon

TOUGH TIMES: Despite intense conservative treatment and rehabilitation, Flintoff's ankle has continued to cause him discomfort. — Photo: AP

LONDON: England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will undergo surgery to fix an ankle problem that has kept him out of the first two Tests against the West Indies.

Flintoff, 29, will have an operation on his left ankle at the weekend, the England and Wales Cricket Board said in a statement on Wednesday.

"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 on his left ankle," ECB chief medical officer Nick Peirce said.

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

Second surgery

Flintoff had surgery on his left ankle in July 2006, but Peirce said this injury was different. Flintoff was still troubled by his ankle when he led England in its 5-0 Ashes series loss in Australia, which ran from November to January.

Flintoff recovered to play in the subsequent one-day triangular series win over Australia and New Zealand, but had a lacklustre World Cup in the Caribbean.

"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," Flintoff said.

"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."

England leads the four-Test series against the West Indies 1-0. The third Test starts at Old Trafford in Manchester on June 7 and the fourth on June 15 at Chester-le-Street in Durham. — AP

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