Kane Williamson still working towards World Cup

Kane Williamson is making steady progress in his recovery from knee surgery but his involvement in this year’s World Cup remains unlikely.

The Black Caps white-ball skipper ruptured the ACL in his right knee while playing in the Indian Premier League in April, leaving him battling to be back on the field for the ODI tournament starting in October.

Williamson has been off crutches for a month and is focusing on strengthening the joint through cycling and gym work, a rehabilitation process he described as difficult but progressing well.

But the 32-year-old is wary of pushing too quickly through that process, balancing a desire to feature at the World Cup with a long-term aim of remaining at the top level for some time to come.

“As much as I’d love for everything to pan out from a time perspective, the healing of the injury is the focus, because there is still cricket after the World Cup and I would like to be involved in that,” Williamson told Newstalk ZB’s Jason Pine.

“The focus is just on each day, each week and not getting too far ahead of myself, because it’s perhaps on the unlikely side of expectations.

“Naturally in my mind, there’s a level of interest because the timings aren’t drastically far apart, but there’s a lot of work to do before that being a potential reality.”

That work has brought some “nice progress” to fuel Williamson’s motivation, but this soon into rehabilitation from such a serious injury, the targets are still small steps.

“It’s a balance to strike — being a little bit patient and managing my own expectations,” Williamson said. “The journey is a long one in terms of getting stronger and getting that mobility and movements that aren’t fixed.

“As you start feeling better and the range of motion improves, then you can start slowly progressing into some more agility-type movements.”

While ACL injuries are rare in cricket, it’s a more common ailment in other codes and there is clear data dictating the recovery process. That knowledge and his support team have helped Williamson remain focused on daily goals and avoid fixating on his prospects of playing in India.

“If I was left to my own devices, you’d be, naturally, pushing it,” he said. “There’s been some good improvement but there’s a real balance between the healing, which is largely out of your control, and increasing strength around the ACL, which is something you can largely control.

“It’s a bit of a balancing act, but I have people around me that are experienced with these sorts of injuries, so I do as I’m told.”

Williamson has found one bright side to the injury, enjoying more time at home with his young family amid a typically busy cricket calendar. But rather than warming to the idea of retirement, it’s only enhanced his desire to pad up once again.

“If anything, having these blocks off you get very keen to get back into what you love doing, which is playing the sport — and hopefully for a little bit longer yet.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission