PCB provides major update on Ihsanullah’s elbow injury

Pakistan’s fast bowler Ihsanullah has left for Manchester, England where he will meet with a renowned orthopaedic surgeon to assess the extent of his elbow injury, confirmed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday.

Ihsanullah, 21, has only represented Pakistan in five international matches, with his last appearance in match against New Zealand in April 2023.

Ihsanullah’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise, Multan Sultans, also collaborated with the PCB to ensure that their star pacer’s treatment goes smoothly.

“Fast bowler Ihsanullah left for Manchester, England, on Sunday morning for his crucial appointment on Monday with esteemed orthopaedic surgeon, Professor Adam Watts, regarding his elbow injury. Professor Watts specialises in hand and wrist surgery, shoulder and elbow procedures, sports injuries, and trauma surgery,” PCB said in a press release.

“Further updates will be provided by the PCB following Professor Watts' assessment and diagnosis.”

Remember, Ihsanullah continued to do weight training after his initial injury which made things worse.

It is worth mentioning that right before the commencement of PSL 9, Ihsanullah was training with Multan Sultans and in an interview with Geo News, confirmed that he was bowling at full pace.

“The rehabilitation after the elbow surgery went great, I have been bowling for the past 15 days,” Ihsanullah had said. “I’m feeling way better than before, I tried to swing the ball with full pace during the practice sessions, and I was able to do it accurately."

With Ihsanullah set to undergo treatment once again, there have been questions regarding the way the PCB has treated the pacer’s injury even after it was initially misdiagnosed, as reported by ESPN Cricinfo earlier.

However, PCB’s medical department head Dr Sohail Saleem confirmed that there was no mishandling in Ihsanullah’s case.

"There was no mishandling in this case," Dr Saleem told ESPNcricinfo. "I'll admit there was a delay [in the initial diagnosis], but no mishandling.

"I said I wanted to get fresh tests conducted because I suspected it was more than just workload syndrome. It was diagnosed as such by the doctor who was previously here at the PCB, and not my team. A lab that gave us an MRI scan gave us an incorrect prognosis. I ordered the same scan again, and we picked the fracture up."