Saxelby Facing Surgery Next Month
9 September 2012
Ian Saxelby will undergo surgery on his right knee next month, aware that a further operation is almost certain to be necessary later in his career.
But the 23-year-old pace bowler is hoping the initial probe and clean up job will prove sufficient for him to develop his highly promising career, which so far has been dogged by injury problems.
Ian missed the whole of the 2010 season after repeatedly dislocating a shoulder he first injured while away with the England Performance Squad. That also required surgery, but he bounced back to take 49 LV=County Championship wickets last summer.
This year was going well with 35 Championship victims when a developing knee condition forced him to end his season prematurely. He expects to enter hospital in mid-October.
“There will be a six to eight week rehabilitation period after the initial surgery,” said Ian. “The knee will be scoped and the surgeon will tidy up any wear and tear while gathering further information which doesn’t show up on scans.
“I tore the posterior cruciate ligament, which helps to stabilise the knee, when I was about 16 and the added strain that caused seems to have affected the cartilage,
“I had a clean-up operation two years ago, but the condition has deteriorated quite rapidly since then through day-to-day cricket and I now have bone on bone causing a problem.
“Just before the Cheltenham Festival the knee started to cause trouble by aching and swelling up a bit. I had it strapped and was on pain killers for three or four weeks, but by the time we played Hampshire last month it was double the normal size and I realised that something was wrong structurally.
“Our physiotherapist Steve Griffin pulled me out of the next match and I went to have the knee scanned. From there it was obvious an operation would be necessary.
“Whatever happens something more major will have to be done further down the line, but hopefully the surgery next month will enable me to play a lot more cricket in the meantime.
“I’m hoping I’ll get a few seasons at least in before another operation, but we will know more after the rehab period.”
