Broken leg is giving me the most grief: Maxwell

NEW DELHI: Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell said he is still dealing with the after-effects of having broken his left leg in 2022, adding that lots of hardwork is needed every day for him to play cricket pain-free.

Shortly after Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign ended in the league stage in 2022, Maxwell suffered a shattered fibula, chipped tibia and ruptured ankle ligaments on his left leg at a friend’s 50th birthday party.

Due to the gruesome injuries, Maxwell missed being a part of 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour of India, but became a member of ODI World Cup winning team. Maxwell’s leg has also left questions over his fitness to play Tests, especially with Australia set to tour Sri Lanka in February next year.

“It’s still my leg. It’s what is giving me the most grief since breaking it, so it’s still a work in progress. It’s something I have to work hard on every day to make sure it’s in a position where I feel like I can get through a full day of cricket unscathed and hopefully pain free.”

“It takes a lot more rehab and a lot more time than other parts of my body … it’s (managing) time on feet, lots of gym work, strengthening up different areas of my body and making sure I don’t have those little niggles that set me back a couple of weeks each time,” said Maxwell to Daily Telegraph.

Maxwell has not played a Test for Australia since the 2017 tour of Bangladesh and has just two first-class cricket appearances since the end of 2019. The all-rounder stated the Australian selectors have assured him about picking an “outside the box” team for Test tour of Sri Lanka.

“They’ve been pretty open to selecting outside the box for players who do well in those conditions, and knowing what it’s like in Sri Lanka, I don’t think Shield form is going to be a huge factor in how someone is going to go over there.”

“It’s just completely different conditions, you’ve got to have a really solid game plan against spin and a really good idea of how you’re going to tackle them in those conditions – it’s a different beast. I understand that it might not look the same as a lot of the Australian teams that play in everyday Tests.”

He also admitted about not knowing if Sheffield Shield form will be considered for Sri Lanka Test tour selection. “It would be great if I could get my body into a position where I can play over (in Sri Lanka). But as far as Shield cricket, I’m not sure how much they’ll take that into consideration.”

“And whether or not I need to prove I can get through four days of cricket before I play Test cricket. Hopefully my body’s going really well and I can put my hand up for the Test stuff as well, but there’s still a lot of work left to do and a lot of boxes to tick before then.”