England Cricket / Frank Gregan / 27 April 2009 / Leave a comment

Depending on who you listen too, Andrew Flintoff could be out for two weeks or, as Frank Gregan, says, forever. So should the England all-rounder have stayed away from the IPL?

The "I told you so" brigades are having a field day.

Andrew Flintoff has had to return from the IPL in South Africa for knee surgery and those who advocated that the England players should be locked in a darkened room and wrapped in wads of cotton wool prior to the start of one of the most important cricketing summers for years feel their reasoning has been vindicated.

Depending on who you listen to and which report you read Flintoff looks likely to be out of action from anywhere between half an hour and forever! No two reports read the same and no two medical experts seem able to agree on the exact repair and recovery time needed. That seems incredible given that the injury is a torn meniscus, to you and I that is cartilage tissue and the injury is degenerative rather than as the result of direct impact and is common amongst all sportsmen and women as well as the population in general.

Indeed, if your Granny cleaned her front doorstep on her hands and knees you can bet she suffered with the same injury. Granted, Granny didn't then have to bowl at Ricky Ponting although there are occasions when I think she couldn't do any worse than the current crop of English bowlers!

The problem in Flintoff's case is without doubt the length of recuperation that will be needed because he has had more injuries to deal with than the cast of Casualty! In no particular order he has been missing from the action with hip, shoulder, side, hernia, back and groin injuries. Add to that the fact that his ankle is weaker than a puppy with 'flu and now he has picked up a knee problem. He really has had some rotten luck.

And that is exactly what this current injury is - rotten luck. The "I told you so" brigade should take into account that it is a degenerative injury and had he been at home walking the dogs, playing football with the kids or scrubbing his front doorstep he would still be doing damage to the joint and just postponing the inevitable.

There are one or two optimists out there who envisage him taking part in the Test Series against the Windies but they are difficult to find and the consensus seems to be that the best that can be hoped for is a return in time for the Twenty20 World Cup. Then the argument will begin as to whether our genuine match-winning all rounder should be risked in the shorter format of the game with the all important Ashes series just around the corner.

England are [1.74] to back to beat the West Indies in the forthcoming series. They didn't manage to do it in the Caribbean last month with Flintoff in the side but they now have home advantage with wickets and conditions to suit but without Freddie it seems highly unlikely that they will win and it is a great price to lay.

As for the Twenty20 World Cup the market has yet to take shape but no matter what price they are, without Flintoff in the side they are not likely to give you a run for your money and should be avoided. That's not saying that with Freddie in the team it will be Yabba Dabba Doo but without him it will definitely be a case of "aw shucks Barney!" Their plans, hopes and chances will be reduced to Rubble!