New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee has provided an update on his dislocated right thumb injury, mentioning that it's still somewhat delicate. However, he has already started bowling and believes he could assumably be ready to play at any point during the coming cricket World Cup. Southee sustained the injury during the ODI series against England last month, throwing a shadow of doubt on his availability for New Zealand's opening match against their archrivals - England, on Friday, October 5, in Ahmedabad.
Upon arriving in Ahmedabad, Southee said, "It's still a bit tender where obviously there's a bit of scarring and a bit of numbness around where the plate is."
This will be Tim Southee's third and pretty much the last ODI World Cup, and he has experienced several disappointments in past tournaments. New Zealand made it to the semi-finals in 2011 but were defeated by Sri Lanka. They then lost in back-to-back finals in 2015 and 2019. Kane Williamson, who is also ruled out of the tournament opener, has participated in these three World Cups, while Trent Boult has played in the last two.
Speaking about his recovery process, Southee explained, "So I guess it's just [about] getting used to that. And getting back into some bowling. I haven't done a lot of bowling over the last couple of weeks, so it's about getting your loads back up as well as managing the thumb. It's been a crazy couple of weeks. A bit of a race against time to get here, but managed to get here and it's a great place to come. It's an awesome place to come and play cricket, let alone being a World Cup", Southee added.
Tim Southee's participation in the tournament opener against England remains doubtful due to his right thumb injury.
"The injury was a new experience for me; I hadn't encountered anything like it before. When something like this happens so close to a major event like the World Cup, you start thinking about it. Given the limited time we had, we decided on the quickest path to recovery, which involved inserting screws and a plate. Everyone involved in my treatment and the recovery process has been excellent, and I'm hopeful that we can continue the recovery process and be ready in time," Southee signed off.