By IANS,
Sydney : All-rounder Andrew Symonds’ hopes of touring South Africa next month have received a boost as the cricketer is making a swift recovery from last month’s knee surgery.
Symonds is scheduled to begin running this week. He underwent operation on New Year’s Eve to clear loose fragments of cartilage from his right knee.
The 33-year-old could return within three weeks, which would make him available for the third ODI against New Zealand, Feb 8 in Sydney.
The Australian team leaves for South Africa, Feb 16.
Cricket Australia (CA) physio-therapist Alex Kountouris said he was happy with Symonds’ rehabilitation.
“I would be disappointed if Andrew wasn’t available to go to South Africa. Things are progressing well. Andrew has been taking it easy but I expect him to be doing some running this week and we will gradually build his recovery up over the coming weeks,” Kountouris was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.
“At this stage it’s hard to say when Andrew will be back but I’d expect it to be somewhere between three to five weeks.”