Flintoff aiming for October return

Andrew Flintoff: 'I'll hopefully be fit to play again ... [in] mid or late October' © Getty Images

Andrew Flintoff has told a British newspaper that he expects to be able to resume playing at least a month before the start of the Ashes in November.

Flintoff, who underwent surgery on his ankle last week, told the Sun that he was undergoing a rehabilitation programme supervised by Dave "Rooster" Roberts, part of Lancashire's medical staff. "I'll hopefully be fit to play again 12 weeks after the operation, mid or late October ... that should be plenty of time to be ready for the first Test.

"There's been a lot of talk that I might play some grade cricket in Australia or get a game somewhere else to help regain match fitness," he added. "But I'm not looking that far ahead. At the moment, I'm sitting on my couch wearing a big boot and holding a pair of crutches.

"I'll be seeing Rooster virtually every day, sometimes two or three times a day. I'll have the stitches taken out some time next week and then I'll get rid of the crutches." "