Flintoff hoping for speedy return

On the way back? 'Fingers crossed I'll be back playing cricket sooner rather than later' © Getty Images

Andrew Flintoff has handed England a boost by saying it may not be too long before he is back in action. But he hasn't played since the final Test against Sri Lanka when he suffered a reoccurrence of his ankle problem, has yet to start bowling again, and admits the first test against Pakistan will be cutting it fine.

However, he has spent hours working with Dave Roberts, the physio who has overseen his previous rehabilitations, and is pleased with his progress. He told Sky Sports: "I've been doing five or six hours a day with the physio...so fingers crossed I'll be back playing cricket sooner rather than later.

"When that exact date is, at this stage I'm not sure. We'll investigate it a bit more at the end of this week, and hopefully I can get back on the pitch and do what I like doing best, playing cricket."

But when asked about the chances of taking his place at Lord's on July 13 he added: "At this stage, that's a big ask."

While he has been sat on the sidelines England have crashed to a humiliating 5-0 whitewash against Sri Lanka. The team has been a shadow of the side that played against Australia last summer with a number of key players missing.

"It's frustrating. I don't like being injured and I don't like not playing cricket. That's what I do and that's what I enjoy, and it's the same for the other lads too," Flintoff said. "Michael Vaughan, Ashley Giles, Simon Jones - they are all the same. They want to get back playing cricket. It's unfortunate that we've all got injured together and the injuries have taken a while to heal."

With Flintoff's continued absence from the team, Andrew Strauss is expected to named captain for at least part of the Pakistan series. Flintoff led England to a 1-1 draw in India before the same result against Sri Lanka, but he hopes that Vaughan will eventually be back in charge

"We want Michael back, I've said that on numerous occasions and the rest of the side feel the same way. He is our captain, he is our leader. In his absence I've enjoyed captaining the side, but as soon as he comes back he's England captain."