Bairstow surgeon feared England star would never play again after horror injury
Jonny Bairstow's surgeon has revealed he did not think the England star would play cricket again... let alone be fit for the Ashes Series against Australia this summer.
The 33-year-old suffered a nasty injury whilst playing golf last September. The Yorkshireman slipped walking to the third tee of the Pannal course in Harrogate and broke 'multiple bones in his leg and his ankle'. He missed out on a lucrative Indian Premier League deal, but also ran the risk of missing the Ashes.
Bairstow recovered in time to make the squad, although professor James Calder, who operated on his leg, didn't think he would be available to face the Aussies. Bairstow was forced to have surgery and multiple procedures on the injury he sustained 10 months ago.
He told The Times: "I had severe reservations that he was going to play in the Ashes and even whether the injury was compatible with playing professional cricket. He was adamant I was wrong and was destined to prove me wrong.
"He had a severe lower-leg fracture dislocation. Multiple bones were broken in his leg and his ankle as well as ligaments, and it was like putting Humpty Dumpty back together again. He had to have plates, pins, keyhole surgery and ligament stabilisation.
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England's Jonny Bairstow suffered a nasty leg injury last September (Getty Images)"I was worried about whether he was actually going to get back to playing, and then we needed every single stage of the recovery to be on the time mark to make it back for the Ashes."
Calder added: "The IPL was a bitter disappointment for him but I still feel that if he had played in the IPL it could have sacrificed his longer-term career, and he elected to choose England over the IPL in the end. That was the best decision but really tough on him."
It proved to be a remarkable recovery for Bairstow, who has had a mixed Ashes series so far. The England wicket-keeper received some criticism during the early stages of the five-test series after a number of missed opportunities behind the stumps and some poor batting performances.
But Bairstow upped his game for the fourth test at Old Trafford as he hit 99 not out before the game ended as a draw after rain disrupted day four and five in Manchester. Speaking after his near-ton, Bairstow told the BBC: "You've got to have a bit of perspective on it.
"I've not played in months and I’ve not kept properly in three years. There’s obviously been a lot of talk and things like that, some of which I think has been a bit out of order to be honest but that’s part and parcel of people having an opinion.
"There are times when if people had a conversation with you individually and found out a bit more about the injury or the ankle and how everything’s going, they might have a slightly different view or perspective on it."
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