The Indian Premier League, revitalised somewhat by Thursday’s exciting matches after a slow first few days, suffered another major setback on Friday with England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff flying back home due to a knee injury.

Flintoff, one of the two most expensive players of the tournament at $1.55m along with Kevin Pietersen, will have to undergo a sixth keyhole operation — MRI scans revealed a torn meniscus in his right knee, adding to hernia problems and four surgeries on his left ankle over the years.

“Clearly this is a huge disappointment for both the player and the IPL team. This sort of degenerative injury though is one that could have happened at any time, anywhere,” Dr Nick Pierce, the English cricket board’s chief medical officer was quoted as saying on ECB’s website.

“The procedures we put in place meant that the ECB medical staff were alerted about the problem immediately and we thank Chennai for their co-operation,” he added. Initial assessments indicated that it would take Flintoff three-to-five weeks to recover, and he could be ruled out of the Test series against West Indies starting on May 6. He is, however, expected to be fit for the World T20 championships and the Ashes.

The all-rounder had a forgettable run in his first IPL, picking up only two wickets for 105 runs. His 0-50 from four overs against Delhi was the most expensive spell of the tournament so far. With the bat, he scored 62 runs in three innings at an average of 31.

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