Liam Livingstone of England hopes to recover from his ongoing injury problems in time for the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). He was a member of the England team that won the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, but he was hampered by an ankle injury sustained during The Hundred in August 2022.
A separate knee injury sustained during his first Test appearance against Pakistan in December 2022 forced him to miss the rest of the tour. He was flown back to England for rehabilitation by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Lancashire medical teams.
It should be noted that he was not selected for the upcoming three-match One-Day International series against South Africa. Prior to the IPL, the world champions will tour New Zealand and Bangladesh, where Livingstone hopes to play for the Punjab Kings (PBKS). In relation to his recovery, Livingstone told Sky Sports:
“It was incredibly disappointing to have got injured at the time, especially when it’s the crunch time of a tournament. It’s going to be a long few weeks building up from rehab, and hopefully I’ll be back around the IPL time so I can get back into the swing of things.”
“It was disappointing [getting injured during The Hundred]. I started the tournament not great and finally got some runs at The Oval. Unfortunately, I had a bit of a freak incident and hurt my ankle.”
For a long time, freak injuries have been an unfortunate recurring occurrence for the England cricket team. The list is endless, from Jonny Bairstow breaking his leg on a golf course to Reece Topley twisting his ankle on the boundary ‘Toblerone’ sponges.
At the 2022 mega auction, the English all-rounder was bought for a whopping 11.50 crore.
Following a relatively successful debut season for PBKS, in which he scored 437 runs at a strike rate of 182 and took six wickets, he was retained by the franchise for the following season. He stated that he is on the right track in terms of recovery, saying:
“I am recovering from a knee injury from that one [the Pakistan tour] and was carrying an ankle problem during the World Cup. I am just trying to get those sorted, it’s a slow process at the moment. I am heading in the right direction. Hopefully I’ll be back in the next couple of months.”
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