Mohammad Hafeez confident of regaining full fitness before World Cup

Karachi, February 22: Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez is confident he will recover from a hand injury in time to be available for the World Cup in May-July.

Hafeez left for Manchester to consult surgeon Mike Hayton, a specialist who specialises in hand injuries.

"I am hopeful once the surgery is done I will have enough time to recover and be available for selection in the World Cup," Hafeez said before leaving for Manchester.

The 38-year old fractured his right thumb while attempting to take a catch of his own bowling during a Pakistan Super League match. He underwent scans which revealed a fracture, and a need for surgery after which the normal recovery period is six to eight weeks.

Unfortunate but it’s life full of challenges , Sad to be ruled out from this #PSL4 , Allah has better plans as always, Thanks to @lahoreqalandars family for all the Love & Respect , All the Best for coming Matches 🤲🏼👍🏼

— Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) February 18, 2019

Hafeez, who has retired from Test cricket after 55 matches, has already appeared in 208 One-day Internationals and 89 T20 Internationals.

The injury blow came after he had set his sights on doing well in the PSL to win over the selectors' confidence ahead of the World Cup.

Hafeez said injuries were part of any professional cricketer's life and at first he didn't think it was a serious one.

"But scans showed a break and doctors in Dubai advised me to go for surgery and I have chosen to go to Manchester to consult Hayton," he said.