da bet7k： Yuvraj Singh will have to wait two more weeks before he knows whether he will need surgery or not.
Anand Vasu in Mumbai13-Nov-2006
Yuvraj Singh: ‘The encouraging sign is that I’m able to bend my knee nowwithout much discomfort’ © AFP
Yuvraj Singh will have to wait two more weeks before he knows whether or not hewill need surgery. Yuvraj was assessed by Dr. Anant Joshi, theIndian cricket board’s designated consultant orthopaedic expert, whodeclared that Yuvraj’s recovery was coming along well and thatthe ligament tear on the left knee could well heal by itself.”Mr Anant Joshi has seen him today. He is very satisfied with the progressYuvraj has made,” said Niranjan Shah, honorary secretary of the BCCI, at apress conference ahead of the Indian team’s departure to South Africa fortheir two-month five-ODI and three-Test series. “At the moment surgery is not anoption. Joshi will see Yuvraj again after two weeks and then let us knowwhat is the outcome.”Yuvraj tore the ligament in his left knee during a training sessionin Mohali during the Champions Trophy while playing kho-kho, and has beenrecovering in Mumbai and Delhi. Yuvraj, who had been walking with the aidof crutches since the injury, told he was much better. Speaking from Delhi, he said: “I am much better now. I’ve taken a break from the crutches just today and will have to see how my knee responds. The encouraging sign is that I’m able to bend my knee nowwithout much discomfort, which was something I could not do earlier.”It had been widely reported that Yuvraj would be heading abroad, mostlikely to Australia, for surgery in an attempt to speed up his recovery process. However Yuvraj also confirmed that the nextstep was to have his knee examined by Joshi in two weeks’ time.Rahul Dravid, the Indian captain, was naturally disappointed at havinglost of the team’s key one-day players. “He has had a greatyear-and-a-half, so it’s disappointing to have lost him. But we must alsoview this as an opportunity for other people to stand up and make a mark,”he said. “We were without Sachin [Tendulkar] for a while earlier, [Virender] Sehwag had to returnfrom Pakistan. Harbhajan [Singh] didn’t play the one-day series in Pakistan. Thisgave other guys a chance to stand up and be counted and many won man ofthe match awards and performed well.”Greg Chappell, the coach, agreed with Dravid. “It’s reallydisappointing for Yuvraj, for this injury to come at this time in hiscareer,” he said. “But at the same time the team has to view it as anopportunity for someone else to do well. It was when Craig McDermott wasinjured that Glenn McGrath came into the Australian side and he took hischances and became the champion bowler that he is today. Perhaps someonecan emerge out of the shadows and into the sunlight like McGrath did.”