Tim Southee shares update on injury, expects to be ‘right in time’ for ODI World Cup 2023

New Zealand pacer Tim Southee dislocated his thumb and was on the verge of missing out on the upcoming ODI World Cup. However, the cricketer has shown a lot of progress since then and recently started to bowl in the nets to get into the groove ahead of the marquee tournament. The 34-year-old clarified that he is not yet a hundred percent fit as he still has some tender but expects to recover just in time for the tournament, which is slated to begin on October 5.

Notably, Southee reached Ahmedabad on October 3 and mentioned that it has been a crazy couple of weeks for him with the injury. He mentioned racing against time but got better just in time to travel to India. Interestingly, the Northland-born cricketer mentioned that he is now getting used to bowling with pain by managing his thumb.

“It's still a bit tender where obviously there's a bit of scarring and a bit of numbness around where the plate is. So I guess it's just (about) getting used to that. And getting back into some bowling. Haven't done a lot of bowling over the last couple of weeks, so it's about getting your loads back up as well as managing the thumb.

"It's been a crazy couple of weeks. A bit of a race against time to get here, but managed to get here and it's a great place to come. It's an awesome place to come and play cricket, let alone being a World Cup,” Southee was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

Haven’t done a injury like this before: Southee

Southee mentioned that he hasn’t dealt with an injury quite like this before in his career. He added that ahead of the World Cup, these kinds of injuries often divert the mind of the players. However, he was focused on chalking a quick recovery plan in order to return back to cricket as early as possible.

“(The injury was) something new. Haven't done an injury like this before. I guess when something like that happens so close to a world event, your mind starts to drift towards that. With the limited time we had, I guess sitting down and working out the fastest recovery time, and the route back was to chuck some screws in it and a plate and hope for the best. Everyone I've dealt with and the process has been brilliant to get me to this stage. So fingers crossed we can carry on the recovery process and be right in time,” Southee added.