'Wondered Whether I Will Be Able To Walk Again': England's Jonny Bairstow After Leg Injury

The right-hand batter had a great 2022 season with the bat as he scored 681 runs, including four centuries at an average of 75.66.

Jonny Bairstow in action.

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England’s batting mainstay Jonny Bairstow sustained serious injuries while golf last August. At one point in time, he even thought that whether he would ever be able to walk again or not. Because of the injury, Jonny was out of action for close to eight months. However, he is fine now and has also been named in the England squad for the one-off Test against Ireland next month, on Wednesday.

“You wonder whether or not you’ll be able to walk again, jog again, run again, play cricket again. Absolutely, those things do go through your mind.

“It depends how long you think about them. There are many different things, until you get back to playing, well… you wonder, is it going to feel the same?”, Bairstow was quoted as saying by ‘ESPNcricinfo’.

“It’s quite funny, people have said, ‘You’re limping’. Well, I don’t know anyone that’s had a major lower leg injury that does walk exactly the same as previously.

The right-hand batter had a great 2022 season with the bat as he scored 681 runs, including four centuries at an average of 75.66 and it helped him emerge as the epitome of an exciting new type of cricket.

“There are going to be little limps, there are going to be aches, pains, that’s part and parcel of it. Whether it’s knees, hips, ankles, lower back, whatever it is.

“When there’s trauma, there’s going to be an adaptation to the way that your body moves or your body walks, that’s just part and parcel of it. I’m not going to be running exactly the same as last year, but that’s okay.”

“I don’t think it’s different to fielding – when you’re sprinting, changing direction. You’re squatting at the stumps and moving laterally, but you’re not running at 25ks to the boundary.”

“So, it’s a different kind of fitness – the old legs and glutes are a bit stiff after that first day in the dirt but it’s part and parcel of it,” he added.

He has been keeping wickets for close to 300 overs across matches against Durham and Glamorgan, since his return to county cricket. Jonny is also set to Yorkshire in the T20 Blast at Edgbaston this weekend ahead of England vs  Ireland Test.