Knight was dropped from the squad for a major part of the domestic season after suffering a hip injury during the first match of the three-match T20 International series against South Africa in July. She missed the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where England finished fourth.
It was at that time that she decided to undergo an operation to repair torn tissue and damaged cartilage, and removed a piece of bone in her right hip joint, which meant she did not join India’s england trip, The Hundred and the current WBBL.
Knight, however, is set to undergo a rehabilitation process and travel to the Caribbean for three ODIs starting December 4 followed by five T20 Internationals. “It looks like it’s a very old rehabilitation but I’ve done well in the last few weeks and am now getting back to full training,” Knight told ESPNcricinfo.
“Fielding has probably been something that has been a bit slow and a bit of pain, but for me some days have been really good so I’m fit to go to the West Indies, which is great. “The hip muscles didn’t like certain positions in the last few weeks but the last few days it’s been as good as a gold medal so I’m ready to come back and play.
Not only was the operation successful, Knight explained that it had slightly changed the shape of her hip joint to give her more freedom of movement. “It’s a much healthier, better hip joint really, it wasn’t an issue that was on the radar, but I played in one of those T20s against South Africa and it flared up really badly and I knew it was something new that wasn’t good.
“As the Commonwealth drew closer, I got a little worried,” Heather Knight said. Actually it got worse and worse and I was in very constant pain which obviously wasn’t very pleasant. I still hoped I was going to play because these things might clear up very quickly, but, as I got worse and worse and ended up on crutches, I was well aware that the Commonwealth was no way out.
Heather Knight is thrilled that she can bounce back against the West Indies as the ODIs are part of the ICC Women’s Championship with England not finding the rhythm after their 0-3 loss to India in September. The five T20 Internationals that follow will play a key role in the preparations for the T20 World Cup to be held in South Africa in February.