Mustafizur’s surgery decision by Monday, likely to be performed in England

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has contacted two surgeons in England and another in Australia for talismanic pacer Mustafizur Rahman’s shoulder surgery.

Sports Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 30 July 2016, 03:18 PM
Updated : 30 July 2016, 08:04 PM

BCB says it may take a decision by Monday and the surgery is likely to be performed in England.

Professor Tony Kochhar - the doctor watching over the Bangladeshi seamer in England - suggested Mustafizur should go under the knife following two MRIs on Mustafizur's injury.

Besides Kochhar, a professor at University of Greenwich, two other surgeons are on BCB shortlist for the operation.

"We’ve sent the reports to several places. We’ll choose the best possible option,” BCB media committee head Jalal Yunus said on Saturday.

"Two [of the surgeons] are in England. Tony Kochhar has already seen Mustafizur. The other is shoulder surgeon Lennard Funk.

Lennard Funk is one of the best surgeons in the world. He has been working on shoulder injuries for a long time. He has also worked with many top athletes,” Yunus said. 

“We’ve also contacted [a surgeon in] Australia. We have three options now,” he said.

A decision would be taken by Monday, as it was “difficult to contact them on Saturday and Sunday”, the BCB official said.

He said Mustafizur, now in England, would have to return to Bangladesh for visa if BCB opted to send him to Australia for treatment.

"So the England option is more likely. We’ve written to the ECB to find out who between Kochhar and Funk will be better. We may go by their suggestion,” Yunus added.

He also said Mustafizur was mentally prepared for the surgery.

The 20-year-old pacer will have to get another MRI done of his shoulder to identify the type of injury.

The shoulder injury has ended his county stint with Sussex Sharks in the NatWest T20 Blast and Royal London One-Day Cup.

The left-arm seamer suffered the injury during Bangladesh's home series against Zimbabwe in November last year.

The damage to the shoulder has resurfaced following Mustafizur's debut with Sussex, where he grabbed four wickets for 23 to mark his introduction to the NatWest T20 Blast.

Surgeries are usually the best remedy for such injuries but can put Mustafizur out of action for around six months.

He is looking at a packed schedule at home and away with national fixtures coming up after the English county. So the pros and cons of a surgical option have to be weighed well.