Flintoff faces surgery

Andrew Flintoff will undergo surgery on his left ankle next week, while will rule him out for 12 weeks.

This means the Lancashire all rounder will miss the rest of the domestic season, and the whole of Pakistan’s tour. He may also be out of October’s ICC Champion’s Trophy and he will have little time for match practice before this winter’s Ashes.

Flintoff already missed the first Test against Pakistan with an ankle injury as well as the one day series against Sri Lanka. He looked to be on the road of recovery but experienced discomfort while bowling for Lancashire yesterday. He saw a specialist today, and the decision was taken to have surgery next week in hope of ensuring his fitness for the Ashes.

This means that Andrew Strauss will remain England captain for the rest of their matches against Pakistan, the squad for the second Test will be named tomorrow morning.