Flintoff's Knee: more Grassy Knoll news

Events at the Wanderers prove that cock-up tends to trump conspiracy [especially when Daryl Harper has his hand on the tiller], but what are we to make of the news of Andrew Flintoff's knee, so easily buried by current events?

Because Flintoff's operation has gone so well, he's er, had to have another operation. 

'The latest update from the specialist indicates that Fred's right knee is recovering better than anyone expected following surgery for a micro-fracture,' said Mike Watkinson, Lancashire's Director of Cricket. 'It's this very positive report which has led to Fred's decision to play more than just one-day cricket for Lancashire'.

So positive that Flintoff has undergone 'a routine arthroscopy to check on the healing of his knee' - a workaday glimpse inside the joint that will take a mere six months to recover from, and involve him missing the original return dates he  set of England's ODIs in Bangladesh and the far less lucrative knockabouts in the IPL 2010. 

Indeed, it's an operation so unremarkable that Flintoff didn't bother including it on the latest progress update on his official blog, posted on December 22, let alone mention the possibility of it happening at the time of the original surgery, which came two days after the last Ashes Test.

Michael Vaughan was first to reassure the public that Fred had nothing to worry about via his stint on TMS, reassuring at least until one remembers Vaughan's position as business development manager at ISM, Flintoff's management company. 

None of which is intended as a dig at Andrew Flintoff, someone who has greatly enlivened England's cricket for a decade. Such blatant media spin reflects less well on his advisors. He's fighting for his career at the moment, and all lovers of the game will wish him well.