Thaindian News

London, Mar 17 (ANI): England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who retired from all forms of cricket after failing to recover from a knee injury, has said his body had paid the full price for the Ashes-winning heroics in 2009.

Flintoff defied the pain to bag a haul of 5-92 in the second innings of the second Test to seal a first win over Australia at Lord’s for 75 years.

Painkillers and physio work ultimately cost Flintoff his career, with knee surgery that August failing to fix the problem, The Sun reports.

Freddie, who is currently working in TV and radio, has recently undergone more major surgery on his leg after years of pounding his hulking frame into the turf when bowling.

Speaking in the April issue of the Wisden Cricketer magazine, Flintoff said: “After the 2009 Ashes my knee was in bits. I’d never swap winning the Ashes, but that 2009 series finished my career.”

“I played through four Tests and the damage I did then has resulted in how I am now. I certainly never thought I’d play my last game of cricket aged 31. I had so many injections and painkillers in my knee just to get through that series. I’m glad I did, but obviously it has cost me,” he said.

“My whole left leg had started to bow and I needed this latest operation to try and make sure I can lead some kind of normal life.

“To straighten the leg they had to break my tibia, take a piece of bone out of my hip and put that in the knee and then screw a titanium pin through from the knee into the top of my shin,” Flintoff said. (ANI)