The Hindu : Tendulkar may be out of action for three months

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 01, 2003

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Sport - Cricket

Tendulkar may be out of action for three months

Sachin Tendulkar at the Chhatrapati Shivaji airport in Mumbai on Sunday before his departure to the U.S. for surgery on his injured finger. — PTI

Baltimore April 30. India's star batsman Sachin Tendulkar underwent surgery on his injured left hand on Tuesday and doctors said the rehabilitation would probably take three months.

Tendulkar was treated at Sinai Hospital by orthopaedic surgeons Dror Paley and Steven Friedman, who specialise in hand reconstruction.

The 30-year-old is the No. 1 batsman in the world and has scored 21,000 runs in Tests and one-day Internationals in 14 years.

Tendulkar told his doctors that he hurt the side of the finger while catching the ball during a match in November. ``The X-rays show that Tendulkar suffered a torn ligament and tendon to his ring finger that is affecting the finger joint,'' Dr. Paley said.

Although Tendulkar was carrying the injury in March during the World Cup, he was named man-of-the-tournament after scoring a Cup-record 673 runs in India's run to the final. Australia beat India in the final.

``Clearly, he performed well at the World Cup despite this, but he was in pain,'' Dr. Paley said. ``It mostly affected his catching. Every time he had to catch the ball, it was painful.''

The doctors repaired the injury as part of an hour-long outpatient procedure.

``He'll need occupational therapy to work on range of motion and his grip strength,'' Dr. Paley said. He said the rehabilitation would probably take three months and would include exercises such as opening and closing the hand and squeezing a ball.

Tendulkar leaves Baltimore on Wednesday but will return for a follow-up visit with his doctors in several weeks. — AP

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