TNN

Cape Town, Apr 25: Flintoff has returned home from the IPL to undergo surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee. It was during Team Chennai’s last match against Team Delhi when Flintoff felt the discomfort in his right knee. Flintoff was then taken to a hospital in Durban.

The team’s medical staff contacted Dr Nick Peirce, the England Cricket Board’s (ECB) chief medical officer, who saw the scans taken of the knee and detected the tear, and decided after consultation with the radiologists and the surgeon that Flintoff shouldn’t play the tournament any more. The player will undergo an operation next week and the recovery period is expected to be anywhere between three to five weeks.

The ECB issued a release saying the player was extremely unlucky with injuries and the only saving grace this time is that it hasn’t occurred on the eve of either the ICC World Twenty20 event or the upcoming Ashes.

Peirce said, "This sort of degenerative injury is one that could have happened any time, anywhere. The procedures we put in place meant that the ECB medical staff was alerted about the problem immediately."

Flintoff’s ouster comes as a huge blow to Team Chennai’s plans given that they’ve lost two of their three matches until now in the tournament. On Friday, the team had an optional practice session at the Newlands ahead of Saturday’s clash with the Knight Riders here.

However, none of the players or management officials, including captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, agreed to comment.

Flintoff was bought by Chennai for a whopping $1.55m, the same amount spent by the Royal Challengers on Kevin Pietersen.