NEWS
OTHER SPORTS
DIARY
PEOPLE
MATCH REPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
ARCHIVES

Gillespie to have pin put in broken leg

Australian paceman Jason Gillespie, who broke his leg in a freak collision with Steve Waugh during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Kandy last Friday, will have a pin inserted in his right tibia today.

Gillespie said this is being done in an attempt to speed his return to cricket. The talented new-ball bowler who faces three months away from the game said his decision to undergo surgery was difficult, as the break would have healed naturally, but the key factor was his desire to play cricket again as soon as possible.

"I'm looking to get back as quick as I can, that's fully the reason I'm taking this approach so hopefully it will pay off,'' Gillespie said. "When I say get back as quickly as possible I'm not being stupid about it, the time frame is possibly around three months.''

Gillespie returned to Adelaide yesterday and was rushed straight from the airport to Wakefield Sports Clinic, where he was assessed by a team of specialists.

The broken leg is the latest in a long series of injuries which have restricted Gillespie to just 13 Tests for 50 wickets since his Test debut in November 1996.

Having been sidelined by knee, back, heel and groin strains over the past two years, Gillespie said he had taken time to come to terms with the latest setback.

"It's just one of those things, it landed perfectly in the middle of us, if you look at the replays, it's just crazy,'' he said.

Gillespie said Waugh had initially wanted to return from a Colombo hospital to the batting crease despite the severity of his broken nose. "Tugga (Waugh) wanted to fly back early morning but I was up all night, I couldn't sleep with my leg,'' he said.

"At four o'clock in the morning, Tugga was just lying there and I said 'You've got no chance of batting today, have you', and he said 'no', he gave it away, he felt like a truck hit him and he looked like it too.''

Agencies