Chris Woakes to undergo knee surgery, T20 World Cup selection in doubt

The allrounder hasn't completed a match since March, retiring from Warwickshire's 2nd XI clash with Worcestershire after scoring a first-innings half-century and bowling nine overs

Chris Woakes will undergo surgery this week to address a troublesome knee injury, placing his participation in the 2022 T20 World Cup in doubt.

The allrounder hasn’t completed a match since returning from England's Test tour of the Caribbean in March, with his comeback appearance for Warwickshire's 2nd XI against Worcestershire cut short by discomfort in his knee. He scored a first-innings half-century and bowled nine overs.

Provided nothing "too serious" emerges from the surgery, Woakes will be out for between four and six weeks.

The 33-year-old returned to England's T20 plans ahead of last year's World Cup, taking seven wickets in six outings, and with Jofra Archer, Saqib Mahmood, Mark Wood and others also struggling with injuries, his involvement would boost Matthew Mott's depleted seam reserves.  

However, with England required to select their provisional squad in mid-September and their first match taking place on October 22, Woakes faces a race against time to prove his fitness.

^{Woakes hasn't completed a match since March, when England played three Tests against West Indies [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]}

"It's been a really frustrating summer," Woakes told Test Match Special. "I came back from the Caribbean at the end of March and had a sore knee. I thought I'd just have a few weeks off and then get back up and running, and it hasn't quite gone that way.

"I've really struggled with my knee without really knowing exactly what's wrong. I've finally got to the situation now where really the only chance I've got of getting back to full fitness is by going for some surgery.

"Everything that I'm getting from the surgeon who seems to be quite optimistic about it all. He's saying four to six weeks - more likely to be six than four. It all depends really on what they find on the inside but they're hoping that it's not going to be anything too drastic. It should be a fairly routine keyhole surgery.

"Touch wood, they don't find anything in there that we're not [expecting]. I'm pretty excited at the fact that I'm hopefully getting the problem sorted rather than letting this linger on like I have done over the last couple of months which have been really frustrating.

"It should hopefully be really straightforward rehab and hopefully back - obviously the aim for myself is to be available for selection for that T20 World Cup. Fingers crossed I can be a part of that.

"This particular injury has been really frustrating. It's teased me a little bit. I can do almost everything absolutely fine until a certain level. I get to a stage where I need to bowl at batsmen at full tilt and then it flares up. That's the annoying thing about this one. It's not like I can't do anything, it's just when I get to that full capacity."

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