New Zealand white-ball captain Kane Williamson has broken his silence on the devastating injury blow that has all but ended his World Cup ambitions, saying that he was taking his recovery from a right knee injury on a week-to-week basis. Williamson said that he has not ruled out playing in New Zealand's 50-over World Cup campaign, but he is taking his recovery from a right knee injury week by week. The New Zealand captain ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) while fielding for the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League in April. He underwent surgery in New Zealand shortly afterward and is currently in the early stages of his rehabilitation.
"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," Williamson said. "I'm making progress, but I'm not putting a timeline on anything. I haven't had such a long-term injury before but talking to other people that have, the journey is a bit of a long one so if you look too far ahead, it probably can become a little bit daunting," he added. In April this year, New Zealand men's team head coach Gary Stead admitted the chances of Williamson making it for the tournament were bleak but didn't want to rule it out already if there was still a small possibility of a timely recovery. Stead went on to say that New Zealand would be open to utilising a player of Williamson's calibre and experience in a mentor role if he doesn't regain full fitness. As far as Williamson is concerned though, his focus is on each day and week and not getting too far ahead of himself in this long and arduous process of regaining full fitness.
