"There’s been some good progress" - Kane Williamson on recovery from the ruptured ACL injury
New Zealand's limited overs skipper Kane Williamson provided an update for the first time on his recovery from the ruptured ACL. He suffered the injury during the IPL 2023 opener against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on March 31.
The Kiwis' all-time leading run-scorer in Tests has been rehabilitating with physio sessions six days a week and some movement exercises. With the 50-over World Cup just over three months away, New Zealand is hopeful that Williamson will be fit for the showpiece event.
Speaking in an interview with 1News, Kane Williamson said:
"There’s been some good progress and I’m putting in the time, but the steps are small and that’s what it’s about, taking those small steps forwards and minimising the backwards ones. Very much just trying to keep it week-to-week at the moment"
Despite the upcoming World Cup, the 32-year-old asserted that his prioritizing regaining full fitness over rushing for the mega event.
"I haven’t thought too much about that. I don’t know what the rulings are around that from a squad perspective. But the focus for me is getting it right regardless of the tournaments that are ahead. It’s within any athlete's want to return as quickly as possible but not compromise the effort that goes in to make sure it’s strong and ready," said Williamson.
Kane Williamson was stationed at the deep mid-wicket boundary when he tried to take a catch off a pick-up shot by Ruturaj Gaikwad but fell awkwardly in the process. The Gujarat Titans (GT) batter held his knee to the ground in agony for a few minutes before being carried off the field.
The star batter did not return to play any further part in the game and was subsequently ruled out of the tournament.
The New Zealand skipper was instrumental in the side qualifying for the final in the 2015 and 2019 limited-over World Cup. He was also the Player of the Series in 2019, scoring 578 runs at a staggering average of 86.57, including two centuries.
"It’s fairly common in cricket and other sports" - Kane Williamson
Kane Williamson remained upbeat about recovering from his ruptured ACL injury and spoke about reaching out to other athletes in various sports that have experienced a similar injury.
"It’s fairly common in cricket and other sports," Williamson said. "Actually a couple of guys in the Sevens (All Blacks Sevens) team that are perhaps five or six weeks ahead of where I am, so a bit of that and a bit of Googling and watching the NBA Finals and going ‘this guy (had the same injury)’, so certainly the curiosity around it has heightened… I’m not the first and I won’t be the last, it’s a matter of working through the process."
The 32-year-old also revealed hitting cricket balls despite being far off from being able to bat in the nets.
"That’s more out of a change of scenery and catching up with some mates. It’s just to tick along. Your plans change in such big ways and then there’s something you have to deal with which is new territory for me in my career," he added.
Kane Williamson is still ranked second in the ICC rankings for Tests and is the first Kiwi cricketer to cross the 8000-run mark in red ball cricket.
The 32-year-old also boasts incredible numbers in 50-over World Cups, scoring close to 1,000 runs at an average of 56.93 in 23 Matches.