A knee injury is sending Shaheen Afridi, Pakistan's lead pacer, to London
Shaheen Afridi sent to London for rehabilitation for his knee injury. Photo: Getty Images
Pakistani star pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has been sent to London for rehabilitation because of his knee injury. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday said that Afridi is expected to be back in action before the T20 World Cup in October.
Shaheen Afridi was ruled out of the Asia Cup 2022 last week and he missed a crucial match against India on August 28, which Pakistan lost.
Why he has been sent to London: PCB made the decision to send Afridi to London because it thinks that the cricketer requires best medical care and London has some of the best sports medicine and rehabilitation facilities across the world. PCB Chief Medical Officer Dr Najeebullah Soomro said that the board is confident that Afridi will return to fitness before the T20 World Cup.
What is Afridi's injury: Shaheen Afridi suffered a Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) knee injury in July while fielding during the first Test against Sri Lanka. It is an injury that happens as a result of serious knee trauma. Recovery time in this injury varies from person to person. If it is mild, it might heal within 10 days but if a player undergoes surgery to repair PCL, recovery might take six to nine months. Initially, Afridi was advised six-eight weeks of rest by PCB's medical team.
In a conversation with former Indian captain Virat Kohli, Afridi talked about his injury.
Stars align ahead of the #AsiaCup2022 🤩
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 25, 2022
A high-profile meet and greet on the sidelines 👏 pic.twitter.com/c5vsNCi6xw
Matches he is going to miss: Not only will he miss the Asia Cup but also a home T20I series against England, which will start from September 20 and end on October 2 in Karachi and Lahore.
Fast bowlers who suffered numerous injuries throughout their careers: Shaheen Afridi is not the first fast bowler to have suffered a serious injury. In the past also, several fast bowlers like Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar, New Zealand's Shane Bond, India's Ashish Nehra, Bangladesh's Mashrafe Mortaza have suffered injuries which severely impacted their careers.