‘Got a bit unenjoyable’: Marsh reveals dealing with ankle injury for 12 months before surgery

New Delhi:  Australias fast-bowling all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has revealed that he had been dealing with the ankle injury for 12 months before undergoing a surgery which has ruled him out of action till the Test tour of India next year.

Now, on the road to recovery after undergoing a surgery to remove loose bone fragments and repair cartilage of his troublesome left ankle, Marsh believes he made the right call to go under the knife as the issue meant cricket had become a bit unenjoyable for him in those 12 months.

“Probably about 12 months I carried the injury for. It’s obviously not ideal, but with the landscape of cricket these days being 12 months of the year, most guys carry things throughout the whole year,” said Marsh on SEN WA Breakfast show.

“Mine sort of got to the point where (cricket) sort of got a bit unenjoyable to be honest and I want to enjoy playing my cricket and have a long time left in my career hopefully. This is all done on the basis that it’s going to help me play as an all-rounder for the next five years at least and I’m really glad I got it done.”

It’s probably not until you stop playing that you realise how sore you were at times. I want to be fully fit and play as an all rounder and play as much cricket for Australia as I possibly can,” he added.

When the news of Marsh’s surgery was announced, chief selector George Bailey was hopeful of him recovering in time to be a part of Australia’s ODI series against India to be held on March 17, 19 and 22, and set to happen after the end of four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Ahmedabad.

For now, he joins fellow all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who fell and fractured his left fibula in an innocuous fall at a friend’s house to suffer a freak injury after Australia couldn’t enter the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup at home.

Marsh said post the surgery, he is feeling good, though he admitted to be disappointed on sitting out of the Perth Scorchers’ campaign in the ongoing season of the Big Bash League (BBL).

“I’m a couple of weeks post surgery now. Obviously disappointing to miss the Big Bash, I love playing for the Scorchers, it’s such a good time of the year to be playing cricket. It certainly was the right call to get (the surgery) done and I am feeling much better, so it’s great,” he said.

–IANS