Jab keeps Flintoff fighting fit

7 September 2007

Andrew Flintoff tests his troublesome ankle during practice at Lord's on Friday

Andrew Flintoff has had a steroid injection as England bid to field their strongest side for the NatWest Series decider against India at Lord's.

While the debate has raged in football circles about whether England midfielder Steven Gerrard should have a pain-killing jab in his broken toe ahead of their Euro 2008 qualifier against Israel, Flintoff was prepared to go down that route despite voicing his dislike for that option in the past.

Flintoff, 29, sent down 15 deliveries on the main square at Lord's on Friday afternoon and has been pencilled in to play only his fourth match in a series which is poised at 3-3.

Since returning from a third operation on his left ankle last month, he has been troubled by pain in the joint and also missed a match due to a niggle in his right knee.

"There is no reaction, no pain so far, so providing there is no reaction between now and tomorrow morning there's a great chance he will play," said England coach Peter Moores. "Fingers crossed he will be okay.

"If he is fit to play we will play him providing there is no risk the ankle would get worse."

Flintoff last received an injection in the ankle before the Melbourne Ashes Test but such a course of action, which reduces inflammation and encourages the healing process, should not be a regular occurrence.

After warming up with three gentle looseners, Flintoff stepped up his intensity and finished off his full marked run-up, tinkering with the placing of his front foot while landing.

"It's inflammation which causes pain and then you can't put your foot down," said Moores. "So the injection was designed to take that away.

Flintoff's impending return puts Dimitri Mascarenhas' place under threat © Getty Images

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"The ankle is a bit unstable because of the hammer it has had over time, so it will be a case of monitoring it to make sure Fred (Flintoff) can stay fit and keep playing.

"Fred is aware that the specialists don't know whether it is the rotation of his ankle that has caused the pain originally or not, because it is not an exact science.

"You don't want to keep injecting people to keep shipping them out with a long-term risk.

"What we don't know is how long before the pain comes back or if it's going to come back.

"He is already wearing specially-made boots which help. He has very strict regimes to regenerate and rehab that ankle as well as look at that slight change of foot position if that's relevant."

To accommodate Flintoff, Sussex's Luke Wright and Dimitri Mascarenhas are the men under pressure to keep their places despite their heroics in the last-gasp defeat to India at the Brit Oval.

"It will be a tough call to drop anybody from that team," said Moores. "It was a funny game: we made some mistakes but did some really brilliant things and that has gone through the series."