Daily rehab is going to be a part of Andre Russel’s life for the rest of his career, reckons Johnny Grave
Johnny Grave has stated that Andre Russell’s knee injury is perpetual and he will just have to continue with rehab throughout his career to ensure he is completely fit. He has also said that Russell was allowed to play in Canada to regain match fitness before he can return to international cricket.
Knee injuries have been a recurring problem for West Indies’ star all-rounder Andre Russell and have kept him from fulfilling his full potential. He has missed a worrying amount of matches over the years but Cricket West Indies chief executive Jimmy Grave believes the 31-year old will just have to live with it and constantly work on his fitness to ensure he is match fit.
"His injuries are probably not going to be ones that are ever going to be fully solved. Like many other sportsmen, like the Beckhams and the Ibrahimovics that have knee injuries, daily rehab is going to be part of his life for the rest of his playing career. We hope that he just takes our medical advice, strengthens his knee and hopefully when he's back to 100% fitness he'll be back wearing maroon," Grave was quoted saying by ESPN Cricinfo.
Russell is currently missing from the Windies squad in the USA that is taking on the Men in Blue in a three-match T20 series. However, he is playing competitive cricket in the Global T20 Canada for Vancouver Knights. National team skipper Carlos Brathwaite had backed him to continue with his recovery on Friday but Russell was seen taking the field only minutes after raising questions, but the incident has now been explained by Grave.
"We cleared him fit to play in Canada as a batsman. To monitor his fitness every day, a couple of our physios are over in the GT20, so we've got that oversight with Andre and his knee. But there's a massive difference between playing in domestic cricket to international cricket. Our fans really want to see Andre Russell at a 100% while playing here against India: batting at 100%, bowling at 100%, fielding dynamically outside the circle at 100%,” Grave revealed.
The injuries might force Russell to become a specialist batsman and focus on his explosive hitting rather than his pace bowling. However, Grave stated Russell loves his bowling and such a situation will only arise if no other options are available.
"We're positive and thinking for the best. Our thought for the moment is we want Andre to fully recover and get back to full fitness as the dynamic allrounder, but if Andre Russell has to become just a batsman, then the selectors will select him based on his performances and on that criteria,” Grave added.
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