Will miss the rest of the Bangladesh tour

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is awaiting experts’ views on injured Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews to decide the best approach to get the 30-year-old cricketer back in full action.

While the other national players are on duty in Bangladesh, Mathews is at home after his latest hamstring injury which initially ruled him out for two weeks. He has long been plagued by leg injuries–either calf or hamstring–and the latest bout saw him returning early from the tri-series in Bangladesh. And although he was initially expected to return to the side towards its tail-end, SLC now confirms Mathews’s unavailability for the whole tour.

“He is being treated at the moment,” said SLC CEO Ashley de Silva. “But his case is a bit too complicated. We really need to get to the bottom of the issue to identify what causes it and then start treating it. We are not sure whether it’s because of a biomechanical issue or any other.”

De Silva said the Board has sought the advice of several medical experts to identify the cause and the best course of action will be taken to put an end to the injury woes surrounding their national skipper.

Mathews, who returned to lead the side after a two-week injury lay-off in January, played just two matches before right hamstring tightness took him out.

“He has a scar and the scar tissue seems to be giving him trouble,” the CEO said. “So the physio has advised him to rest but the Board is keen to find a permanent solution. We are ready to do anything to get him back on track.”

Following his latest injury, his reports were dispatched to Dr. Tharindu Wedasinghe, a Sri Lankan based in the United Kingdom. He advised a few weeks of rest and, more importantly, a fresh MRI scan to see whether the injury has healed completely before returning to action.

“It’s being pretty tough to be in and out of the team due to injury,” Mathews said. “So I do not want to take any risk this time around by rushing through the rehabilitation process. Next week I will have an MRI scan to see the progress.”

“It is just an irritation at the moment but I was told that if I don’t treat it well it will become chronic,” the skipper said. “I can and run and do everything but I am not taking any risks at this point in time.”

Mathews has been a vital cog in Sri Lanka’s wheel as an all-rounder ever since he made his international debut in 2008, but in recent months he is in and out of the national team due to injuries.

He has played more international matches than any other player since his debut (28th Nov 2008) until 31st December 2017 across all formats. He has played 338 matches scoring 11034 runs. He has also picked up 184 wickets during the same period.

With the World Cup 2019 in mind, national cricket selectors reappointed Mathews as skipper of the national limited over sides. If all goes well, Mathews is expected to lead the side during the Independence Trophy tri-series involving India and Bangladesh at home in March.