Wriddhiman Saha returns to India after surgery, to begin rehab after 3 weeks

Kolkata: Back to country after undergoing a shoulder surgery in Manchester, wicketkeeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha says the recovery period seems more difficult than facing fast bowlers.

His right hand heavily strapped from below the elbow, Saha returned this morning after his laberal repair surgery at the Arm Clinic in Manchester.

Saha will begin his rehabilitation at National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru after completing a mandatory three-week rest period.

"It's very difficult. You cannot move the hand and I have to keep it in one position. It's more difficult than facing pacers. But this is the only way to go forward and make a comeback. I just have to go by it," said Saha.

The agile Bengal stumper, first had injury problem during the tour of South Africa, and had returned early to nurse his hamstring. During the Indian Premier League, Saha suffered a thumb injury that kept him out of the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June.

It was later discovered that Saha was carrying a shoulder injury that ruled him out of contention for the ongoing tour of England. The Australia Test series begins in December 6, which may be a realistic chance of Saha's comeback plans.

"It's still a long way to go for the Australia tour (in December). Let's see, I'm keeping my fingers crossed," he said.

"Injuries are part and parcel of a sportsperson's career. But one should not play with injury. Normally in 55 per cent cases this injury does not recur after it's healed. It all depends the way I recover and how I recover. I don't want to fasten it and take my time. I want to go slow so that this does not aggravate," he said.

Dinesh Karthik is keeping wickets for India with 20-year old Rishabh Pant selected as his back-up during the ongoing Test series in England. Saha has played 32 Tests so far, scoring 1164 runs with three centuries. He has taken 75 catches and effected 10 stumpings.