Cricket: England Allrounder Andrew Flintoff to Undergo Ankle Operation

England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will undergo surgery in a bid to overcome an injury to his left ankle.

Flintoff missed the first two Tests against the West Indies with his ongoing ankle problem, and now could be out for the whole summer.

"Andrew Flintoff has undergone rigorous fitness testing over the past two days, most recently 30 minutes of net bowling on Tuesday, but has reacted to the testing with further discomfort in his left ankle," said Dr Nick Peirce, the ECB's Chief Medical Officer.

"Despite intense conservative treatment and rehabilitation with England and Lancashire's medical teams, Andrew's ankle has continued to cause him discomfort when bowling at full capacity. As a consequence he will undergo an exploratory arthroscopy on his left ankle over the weekend.

"This current ankle injury is separate to the previous posterior impingement injury and while a comprehensive timescale of rehabilitation will be clearer following the operation the recovery period is not expected to be as long as Andrew's previous surgery."

Flintoff put a brave face on his latest setback. "Obviously I'm bitterly disappointed to face another operation on my ankle as I really thought I was making progress with the injury over the past few weeks," he said. "I've been working really hard on my game and the rest and rehabilitation appeared to be helping the ankle but after giving it a strong workout this week, it now seems that an operation is the only option.

"Having bounced back from ankle surgery before I know how much work is ahead of me but I'm desperate to get back playing for England and determined to overcome this setback as soon as possible."