London, Nov.17 (ANI): England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff says he is recovering well from his knee surgery, and concedes he is likely to miss England’s tour to Bangladesh early next year.

Flintoff, 31, said: “My recovery is still on track. But I must admit that saying I would be fit to play in Bangladesh may have been a touch optimistic on my part.”

England’s tour of Bangladesh begins on February 28 with three one-day internationals, before a two-Test series starts on March 12.

Flintoff turned down an incremental contract offer from England in order to pursue other short-term opportunities but pledged to remain available for their one-day matches.

If he fails to recover in time for the Bangladesh ODIs, his next target is likely to be the 2010 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, which will run from March 12 to April 25.

His next opportunity to resume his international career would be at the ICC World Twenty20 - which starts almost immediately after the IPL final - before England’s summer ODIs against Scotland, Australia and Pakistan.

Last year, Flintoff signed a record 1.55 million dollar contract to play for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, although his 2009 stint was cut short by injury.

He had surgery in August after helping England regain the Ashes with victory over Australia and was pleased with the findings of his 12-week check-up by Williams.

“I know I’m not in the clear yet and there is still a lot of hard work to be done, but so far, so good and it is very good news because if he’d said he was disappointed with my progress I’d have been devastated,” said Flintoff. (ANI)