da fazobetai： Shoaib Akhtar is likely to miss Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka in March,owing to a stress fracture in his left ankle
Cricinfo staff14-Feb-2006
Shoaib Akhtar’s ankle injury has sidelined him after six Tests on the trot © AFP
Shoaib Akhtar is likely to miss Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka in March,owing to a stress fracture in his left ankle, the Pakistan board haveconfirmed. Shoaib was recently ruled out of the ongoing one-day seriesagainst India and may need to gear up for a few months on the sidelines.”A final assessment is set to be made, after consultation with anorthopedic surgeon, later today,” Saleem Altaf, the PCB, directoroperation, told Cricinfo. “The board doctor, Sohail Saleem, told us todaythat he is suffering from a stress fracture in his left ankle but we’llget a clear picture only by evening.”Shoaib has been carrying the injury since the third Test against Englandat Lahore and there was some doubt whether he would take part in theKarachi Test against India. The uncertainty continued during the one-dayseries – especially with Inzamam-ul-Haq confident that Shoaib would playbefore the games at Rawalpindi and Lahore – but it was finally confirmedthat he would be forced to skip the entire series.Fitness concerns have plagued Shoaib’s career but his sterlingperformances against England, when he picked up 17 wickets in three Tests,appeared to have heralded a revival. He got through all three Testsagainst India but six Tests on the trot for the first time in his careerfinally took a toll.