Shakib Al Hasan is likely to be out of action for at least three months as the Bangladesh all-rounder had to undergo an emergency procedure in Dhaka to drain his hand of the pus due to infection.
This means that the 31-year-old, who played some matches in the Asia Cup despite a fractured little finger, would have to undergo another surgery on the finger after the infection is cleared.
Shakib arrived in Dhaka on Thursday, midway from the Asia Cup, and the infection was spotted only after his arrival. This is the same finger which he had injured but that surgery will now be conducted later, according to a report on ESPNcricinfo.
“The moment I arrived in the hospital, the doctors told me that I have to get the pus out as soon as possible,” Shakib was quoted as saying by Prothom Alo. “Any delay would put me in great danger as the infection spread till my wrist. If I had waited another few days, my wrist would have become disabled.
“I feel better after they took out the pus, but the problem is until the infection isn’t gone, there isn’t going to be a surgery on my injured finger. It will take another 2-3 weeks to fix. After surgery I will need eight weeks, which means I am out for three months.”
Shakib was originally injured in January during the ODI tri-series final in Mirpur. He missed the subsequent Test and T20I series against Sri Lanka due to sprain. But he returned for the Nidahas Trophy and played through pain.
The former Bangladesh captain first spotted the swelling around his little finger during the Asia Cup. The X-ray and scan reports were regularly sent to doctors in Australia and England by Bangldesh team physio Tihan Chandrmohan. One of the doctors suggested their could be an infection.
ESPNcricinfo reported that Shakib withdrew from Asia Cup after his pain had become unbearable and he underwent another scan. Shakib said that Chandramohan should have detected what was wrong when the swelling had increased around his injured finger.
“I have been in this state for the last 14-15 days. The doctor immediately understood what had happened, but our physio couldn’t find out. It is true that the physio couldn’t detect the problem. There was a bit of mistake so he has to take some of the responsibility. But I won’t blame him fully. Nobody knew that it would become infected,” he said.
Shakib also said that he decided to play Asia Cup only because the physio told him that it won’t be dangerous.
“The BCB president [Nazmul Hassan] asked if I could play the Asia Cup or I could go for the surgery. He told me to take the decision. When I asked the physio about what damage it may have, he told me it won’t be that dangerous. Then I decided that since the Asia Cup is important for us, I will play 4-5 matches with the pain”.
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