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Australia Test skipper Tim Paine feels confident of being fit for the upcoming Test summer despite undergoing invasive neck surgery in Hobart on Tuesday.
The wicketkeeper said due to a bulging disc there was pain in his neck and left arm, so he had to be operated on. "I'll be dealing with the physio at the hospital for the next six weeks or so before I'm handed back over to Cricket Tasmania and Cricket Australia to start my cricket rehab. "I'll hopefully get a Shield game in for Tassie before then and hopefully be on the winning end of a third winning Ashes would be something really special," he told radio station SEN on Friday as reported by cricket.com.au. Paine had consulted a spinal surgeon in Hobart late last week. The surgeon recommended the surgery to relieve the pressure on the nerve and allow him time to return to training later this month. "The consensus of the spinal surgeon and the CA medical team was to have the surgery now which will allow plenty of time to fully prepare for the summer," Paine said in a statement. "I expect to be able to restart physical activity by the end of this month and be back in full training in October. I will be ready to go by the first Test and am very much looking forward to what will be a huge summer," he added. The first men's Ashes Test will begin at Brisbane's Gabba from December 8 ahead of a day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval from December 16 to 20. For the first time in 26 years, the final Ashes Test will not be staged in Sydney. The traditional Boxing Day and New Year's Tests will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (December 26-30) and Sydney Cricket Ground (January 5-9) respectively, with the final Test scheduled for Perth's Optus Stadium (January 14-18). (ANI)
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