Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi took to social media on Sunday to announce that he underwent an appendectomy. Shaheen had injured his knee after landing awkwardly during the T20 World Cup final earlier this month. The lanky pacer, however, said that he was feeling better after the surgery, and urged everyone to pray for him. "Had an appendectomy today but Alhumdulillah feeling better. Remember me in your prayers," Shaheen captioned a post on Twitter. Notably, appendectomy involves the removal of the appendix.
After injuring his knee in the T20 World Cup final, Shaheen was advised a two-week rehabilitation period.
"Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has been advised two-week rehabilitation after he landed awkwardly while taking Harry Brook's catch during Sunday's ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 final in Melbourne," Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement.
"The scan conducted on Monday morning prior to the team's departure for Pakistan, has confirmed there were no signs of an injury and the knee discomfort was likely 'due to a forced knee flexion whilst landing'." Afridi had earlier suffered a ligament injury in his right knee in July during a Test match against Sri Lanka but had managed to make it to the team for the T20 showpiece.
"The scans were discussed between PCB's Chief Medical Officer, Dr Najeebullah Soomro, and Australian knee specialist, Dr Peter D'Alessandro, and it was reassuring to know that there was no injury. The left-arm fast bowler is feeling better and is in high spirits.
"Shaheen will undergo rehabilitation and conditioning programme that has been designed to strengthen his knee at the National High Performance Centre few days after his return to Pakistan." Afridi, who took 11 wickets in seven matches during the T20 World Cup, is likely to miss the home Test series against England and New Zealand in December-January.
"Shaheen's return to international cricket will be subject to the champion fast bowler's successful completion of the rehabilitation programme and following go-aheads by the medical staff," the PCB said.
During the tournament, Shaheen bagged 11 wickets for Pakistan, despite his struggles during the group stage.