Maxwell continues to grapple with ankle soreness stemming from a leg injury he sustained at a friend’s birthday celebration last year. The all-rounder is currently waiting for the birth of his first child.
While Maxwell still harbors hopes of making a brief appearance in Australia’s ODI series in India scheduled for later this month, his foremost priority remains ensuring his fitness for the World Cup.
“I still want to play some part of that India series, but I’m not feeling any pressure on it. The selectors and the staff have been brilliant with me as well. They don’t want to put too much pressure on me to sort of set that date because they know they’ve got a bit of extra time before the World Cup. So instead of rushing it and probably putting myself a week or two behind, being able to give myself extra time and make sure we get through the whole tournament (is the priority), ” Maxwell said.
An integral figure in Australia’s successful World Cup campaigns of 2015 and 2019, Maxwell plays a crucial role for the five-time champions, thanks to his knack for quick scoring and his contributions with the ball as a spinner, as well as his fielding prowess.
However, Maxwell has been absent from international cricket since his last appearance in an ODI against India at the Wankhede Stadium in March. He hasn’t participated in any form of cricket since briefly featuring in an English County Championship match for Warwickshire at the beginning of July.
Although he was slated to take part in the T20I segment of Australia’s ongoing tour of South Africa, Maxwell’s ankle soreness forced him to return home prematurely.
“I don’t think I could have predicted how sore I was going to be once I got to South Africa. But it was one of those things. Even when I went to train that day, I still felt fine. There was nothing wrong. Something just got impinged. I think one of the tendons around my ankle was a little bit inflamed, there’s a bit of swelling, so it kept on catching which meant it just gave me a bit of pain,” Maxwell said.
(AI picture)
“Hopefully, the cortisone takes care of that and I can get back up and running to where I was just before I went to South Africa. We’ve probably just got to be a bit smarter going forward, making sure that my preparation is a bit more managed, I think, leading into a flight like that. I’m already back in the gym, so I’ll probably get back into full training probably this week, so it won’t be a long turnaround. It’s just knowing that I’m not over the hurdle of the original injury yet.”
(With agency inputs)
