Flintoff’s future in doubt after latest injury blow

Yet again Andrew Flintoff has had to postpone his cricket comeback and, after being ruled out for the rest of the English season, there are now serious doubts about his future in the sport.

The England all-rounder has not played a competitive game of cricket since last summer's Ashes series against Australia. He underwent a knee operation after the final Test in August and hoped to be fit within six months. But he had to go under the knife for a second time in January, and that scuppered his hopes of a return in time for the lucrative Indian Premier League competition and the ICC World Twenty20.

The 32-year-old had hoped to make his belated comeback this week for Lancashire's reserves, but was once again deemed unfit. And, after talking to Flintoff, his surgeon Andy Williams and their own medical team, the county came to the conclusion that he would not be able to play this season.

The diagnosis is a major blow to Flintoff as it means he will also  miss the Twenty20 Champions League in South Africa, where he was due to play for the Chennai Super Kings of the IPL.

Now Flintoff will return to Dubai, where he is now based with his wife Rachel and their three children, to continue his rehabilitation and will target a return in the Australian KFC Big Bash Twenty20 competition next January. He may even play club level cricket in Queensland in a bid to prove his fitness.

If he does get fit in time to take part in that tournament, plus the New Zealand competition soon afterwards, he should be able to reap some of the rewards from playing in the IPL, which takes place in the spring.

However if he breaks down again then it could all be over. He will be without an IPL franchise when his deal with Chennai ends this autumn and the teams will be loathe to bid for him in the next auction if he is unfit. Furthermore his reputation and marketing clout is waning through lack of exposure.

Although he has maintained his profile in Dubai by advertising the destination and has worked with the brands Shell, Red Bull and Puma there is a feeling that the game that helped make his name has now left him behind.

Although Flintoff retired from Test cricket he still harboured hopes of playing for England again in the one-day format - but that now seems a remote prospect. Since he has been out of action England have won the World Twenty20 competition and are almost unrecognisable in the 50-over game, and he would have a hard job muscling his way back into contention.

As his former Test captain, Michael Vaughan, said: "I don't see him playing for England again - they have moved on without him and are having a lot of success." ·