"I still want to play some part of that India series" - Glenn Maxwell on his comeback from ankle injury
Australian star Glenn Maxwell expressed his desire to play some part in the upcoming ODI series against India after reaggravating the injury on his left ankle. The 34-year-old was ruled out of the ongoing T20I series against South Africa due to the same, resulting in him flying home from South Africa.
Maxwell still carries a metal plate in his left leg after fracturing it in a freak accident last November. He aggravated his ankle injury further during Australia's first training session in Durban.
Speaking at the BBL overseas draft, Glenn Maxwell admitted wanting to partake in the India series but credited the selectors and support staff for not adding any extra pressure.
"I still want to play some part of that India series. But I'm not feeling any pressure on it. The selectors and the staff have been brilliant with me as well. They don't want to put too much pressure on me to sort of set that date because they know they've got a bit of extra time before the World Cup," Maxwell said.
"So instead of rushing it and probably putting myself a week or two behind, being able to give myself extra time and make sure we get through the whole tournament," he added.
Despite playing in the IPL and the T20 Blast since his return from injury in February, Glenn Maxwell has played the lone ODI against India this year.
"Trying to manage those two and work out the balance" - Glenn Maxwell
Glenn Maxwell was already touted to miss the ODI leg of the South African tour due to the birth of his first child. However, welcoming the child while managing his recovery from injury makes it quite a task to balance them out.
"It's going to be a busy fortnight," Maxwell continued. "I suppose I'm trying to manage my program and I'll sit down with the strength conditioning crew tomorrow and nut out of a genuine plan but obviously there's some distractions as well."
"I'm trying to manage obviously a pretty special time in my life with a pretty big time in my career, trying to manage those two and work out the balance," he added.
The 34-year-old further expanded on re-aggravating his ankle while training in South Africa.
"I don't think I could have predicted how sore I was going to be once I got to South Africa," Maxwell added. "But it was one of those things. Even when I went to train that day, I still felt fine. There was nothing wrong. Something just got impinged."
"I think one of the tendons around my ankle was a little bit inflamed, there's a bit of swelling, so it kept on catching which meant it just gave me a bit of pain," Maxwell concluded.
Glenn Maxwell has been among the biggest match-winners for Australia in the 50-over format, averaging almost 34 at an intimidating strike rate of 124.82 after 128 games. He also played an integral role in the Aussies winning their fifth ODI World Cup in 2015 and their maiden T20 title in 2021.
Australia will play five ODIs against South Africa before heading to India for another three ODIs against the hosts ahead of the showpiece event.
They will play India in their World Cup opener at Chennai on October 8.