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Ganguly may return to Pak on April 7
Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, recuparating from his lower back injury, today said he intended to return to Pakistan on April 7.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 09:06 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Kolkata:
Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, recuperating from his lower back injury, today said he intended to return to Pakistan on Wednesday as his condition showed marked improvement in the past few days. "I may return to Pakistan on Wednesday. My back pain has subsided a lot. There is much improvement with the treatment," Ganguly, who was consulting specialist orthopaedic Dr Kalyan Mukherjee, said. Mukherjee, who has diagnosed Ganguly's injury as a mild disc and ligament problem, opined that the captain should recover substantially by the next few days and could look forward to joining his team soon. "I think 90-95 per cent of his problem should be cured by Wednesday," the doctor said. "The rest can be dealt by Indian team's physio Andrew Leipus in Pakistan," he added. Asked about Ganguly's intention to start light exercises from tomorrow to gain match fitness before the third Test beginning April 13, Mukherjee said "he is a player. If he thinks his back pain has subsided, he can do so. It's upto his choice". The chances of Ganguly playing the third and final Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi brightened yesterday as the medical reports confirmed that his injury was not serious. Ganguly, who flew in here on Thursday for treatment, had undergone MRI scan, digital x-ray and blood test to assess the nature and extent of his injury. The reports had confirmed that there was no bone injury but only the ligament had been affected. This came as a major boost to the Indian skipper, who was only too keen to rejoin the team in Rawalpindi. He had also left his personal luggage and cricketing gear behind in Pakistan. After the diagnosis by Mukherjee, Ganguly was advised normal rest at his residence and asked to do swimming and some exercise. Mukherjee, who had treated the skipper on number of occasions since his early days, said, "The treatment is like a flow chart. If there is proper diagnosis vindicated by medical reports and proper treatment, recovery comes fast". The Indian captain had injured his back while fielding during the fifth and final one-day match at Lahore on March 24 and was ruled out of the first test at Multan. He would also miss the second Test at Lahore from tomorrow. Ganguly had returned to his home town after watching the Rahul Dravid-led Indian team register a historic first Test victory against Pakistan on their soil at Multan. (PTI)Topics mentioned in this article
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