When I first had the operation I did not think I would be able to play anything other than one-day cricket, but the news of my recovery has led me to believe I may play in all forms of cricket for Lancashire.
Andrew Flintoff has set his sights on playing ALL cricket for Lancashire later this summer after being given encouraging news about his recovery from a knee operation.
The Lancashire all-rounder has been sidelined since undergoing a micro-fracture operation on his right knee after helping England regain the Ashes last summer and had originally planned to just play one-day cricket for Lancashire, England and Chennai Super Kings.
His ambitions have now changed after a routine arthroscopy operation this week to check the healing on his knee, which is expected to sideline him for around six months, but it has encouraged Flintoff enough to try and play in all cricket when he returns to action.
"My goals have changed since last summer," explained Flintoff. "I trust the surgeon, Andy Williams, implicitly and he is very pleased with the progress of the micro-fracture operation.
"When I first had the operation I did not think I would be able to play anything other than one-day cricket, but the news of my recovery has led me to believe I may play in all forms of cricket for Lancashire.
"First and foremost I have to prove to myself that I can regain my fitness and perform for Lancashire. My first love remains playing for Lancashire and I want to help them win trophies and hopefully I can help achieve that later this summer."
The decision to undergo another operation this week was taken in consultation with surgeon Andy Williams and took into account that he would not be able to fulfil the second year of his contract with Chennai in the Indian Premier League.
He said: "It is disappointing not to be able to play for Chennai, who have been very supportive throughout my time with them, but I took this decision because I love playing cricket and want to give myself the best chance of extending my career.
"I have worked extremely hard over the last few months to get to this position and realise there is a lot more hard work in front of me if I want to return and play international cricket again.
"But if I am going to go through another six months of hard rehabilitation and training for long hours, I need a big incentive to be the driving force of that and playing for Lancashire and England again will become that.
"During my time in rehabilitation I have been watching England playing well in South Africa and it has made me realise how much I have missed cricket. For the first time in my career I have watched old footage of myself playing on youtube and I want to get back to playing like that again."
Lancashire CCC Cricket Director Mike Watkinson said: "The latest update from the specialist indicates that Fred’s right knee is recovering better than anyone expected following surgery for a micro-fracture.
"It’s this very positive report which has led to Fred’s decision to play more than just one-day cricket for Lancashire. It is disappointing that he won’t be able to return to action until midway through our season, but to have a stronger Fred available for all formats of cricket can only be a great thing for Lancashire."