Jack Leach has announced that he will undergo surgery on his left knee, which he injured during England’s opening Test against India in Hyderabad last month.
Leach, England’s most senior spinner, returned home earlier this month and is scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday. He is expected to be fit for England’s next series against the West Indies at home in July.
The 32-year-old man said, “The swelling is not going down, so I am planning to have surgery to remove the remaining swelling.”
Leach was injured diving into the field during the first Test in Hyderabad, but still went on to bowl 36 overs and contributed to his team’s famous come-from-behind victory.
“It was a very disappointing result,” Leach said. bbc radio 5 live.
“It was the second pitch of the first inning on the field, so during that game I was playing with a knee problem. Of course I fell down a few times during the game, but that made for a long recovery period. Just there.
“I need to get the surgery done and then I hope I can get back to playing cricket. I want to play cricket again and get my rhythm back and I hope I can do that again once this is resolved. I hope so.”
Shoaib Bashir, Tom Hartley and Rehan Ahmed all added to Leach’s absence during the series in India.
But the need for surgery from such a seemingly innocuous injury is yet another fitness blow for the Somerset bowler, who suffers from Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease that can be highly debilitating. .
The medication Leach takes to treat Crohn’s disease weakens his immune system, and he admitted he feared for his life when he contracted sepsis during England’s tour of New Zealand in 2019.
Leach also missed all of last summer’s Ashes series due to a back injury.