“Week to week”, the injured Williamson did not give up in the World Cup

June 26 (Reuters) – Kane Williamson has not ruled out New Zealand’s 50-over World Cup campaign but said he is taking weeks to recover from a right knee injury.

The top-order batsman suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) while playing for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League and underwent surgery in early April.

Williamson said he was making progress but ensuring the knee was properly repaired was his top priority before he gets back on the field for the World Cup in India in October and November.

“I’m just trying to keep it weekly at the moment,” he said Monday.

– I haven’t had such a long-term injury before, but speaking to others who have, the journey is a bit long, so if you look too far ahead, it can become a bit scary.

“While week by week those little signs, those little victories that are nice to experience, ticking away. But also knowing that the journey is not going to be completely smooth and there are a few setbacks along the way that you have to navigate. .”

Williamson’s knock helped New Zealand to the finals of both the 2015 World Cup in Australia and the 2019 World Cup, where they lost to hosts England in a dramatic Super Over.

The 32-year-old, who has scored 6,554 ODI runs and captained New Zealand in both short formats, said the training he was doing was “rudimentary” at the moment and he was looking forward to getting back into the nets.

“Probably more for mental health and changing things up … It’s just nice to mix up all the gym work and physio and rehab stuff to hang out with some other guys who are working out,” he said.

“Really eager to get back into the nets.”

Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford

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