Injury timing benefits Flintoff

Andrew Flintoff thinks the knee injury which came to light during his Indian Premier League stint proved to be a blessing in disguise

Andrew Flintoff claims he would have struggled to be fit for the Ashes if his knee injury had not come to light when playing in the Indian Premier League.

Flintoff came in for criticism for not resting up after the winter tour of the West Indies ahead of a gruelling international summer.

He instead chose to play for the Chennai Super Kings in the lucrative IPL, and had to return home early to have surgery to repair a minor cartilage tear.

But Flintoff believes that has proved to be a blessing in disguise as he prepares for the opening npower Test against Australia at Cardiff starting tomorrow.

He said: “The knee injury was a new one; I’ve never had any problems with my knees. It was like a degenerative problem so it was building up.

“I knew it was untimely when it came to light when involved with the Indian Premier League, but I’m pleased in a lot of ways that it did.

“Otherwise, if it had been another two or three weeks before that happened, then I’d have been struggling for this Ashes series.”

Flintoff has been driven on by the goal of being ready for the Ashes during his rehabilitation and playing comeback with Lancashire.

He played in two LV= County Championship and two Twenty20 Cup games plus England’s friendly with Warwickshire to ensure he is fit and ready.

Flintoff, fit again following surgery, hones his action in the nets on the eve of the first npower Ashes Test at Cardiff

He said: “The Ashes is in the back of your mind. When I was in the gym and trying to get back to fitness, it was all about playing in the Ashes.

“The reason you do all the rehab is to put back on that England shirt, to get the chance to play in an Ashes series.

“I’d have loved to have played in the World Twenty20 because it is a great tournament, but the ultimate is the Ashes.

“You can have any other tournament you want but to have the chance to play in the Ashes is everything. It is the biggest thing for an Englishman to play in.

“For the past eight or nine weeks since the operation, I’ve been working hard and hopefully that is all behind me now. I’ll just keep maintaining my fitness and looking after my knee - as well as my ankle.

“I’ve played three weeks for Lancashire and the Warwickshire game, bowled my overs, managed to score a few runs, and I’m pleased where I am at. Now I just want to perform.”

Flintoff heads into the opening Test believing England can regain the Ashes following their 5-0 defeat in Australia in 2007-07.

He said: “I don’t know if Australia have come back to the pack or if people have got closer to them. You look at how much the South Africans have improved and the Indians.

“When you lose some of the players of the quality that Australia have, it is going to have an impact.

“Unfortunately, Australia have got a knack of finding people to fill those voids and they have found some good players already. It is going to be tough. We won’t underestimate them but we will be quietly confident.”