Flintoff ruled out of T20 showpieces

Andrew Flintoff could make an unexpected return to the LV= County Championship after undergoing a further knee operation

Andrew Flintoff will miss this year’s Indian Premier League and ICC World Twenty20 after undergoing a further operation to his right knee, but intends to play four-day cricket for Lancashire this summer.

The all-rounder’s latest surgery means he will not be available to represent Chennai Super Kings in the IPL and England in the World Twenty20 in the West Indies.

However, this has caused him to reassess his plans just to play one-day cricket for Lancashire.

The 32-year-old retired from Test cricket following the victorious Ashes series last summer, citing the stresses on his body, and had planned to make himself a one-day specialist with Lancashire, England and the Super Kings.

Immediately after the series win over Australia, Flintoff underwent a micro-fracture operation on his right knee and after a routine arthroscopy operation this week to check the healing, he was encouraged to try all forms of the game when he returns to action later this year.

“My goals have changed since last summer,” said Flintoff, who faces another six months on the sidelines - thus ruling him out of the IPL - following his latest operation.

“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.”

Lancashire director of cricket Mike Watkinson said: "Fred’s right knee is recovering better than anyone expected"

The decision to undergo another operation this week was taken in consultation with his surgeon and took into account that he would not be able to fulfil the second year of his contract with Chennai in the IPL.

But Flintoff insisted his desire to return to the England fold came first and he is determined to return to his talismanic best.

“It is disappointing not to be able to play for Chennai who have been very supportive throughout my time with them,” he added.

“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 director of cricket Mike Watkinson was happy with the news.

“The latest update from the specialist indicates that Fred’s right knee is recovering better than anyone expected following surgery for a micro-fracture,” Watkinson said.

“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.”