Jos Buttler has said that he will give himself enough time to recover from hamstring surgery and not rush into returning to international cricket, even if that means waiting until September 2027. The veteran cricketer confirmed that his participation in England’s ODI series against South Africa in January remains uncertain. Buttler suffered the injury during an ODI against Sri Lanka at Headingley last month, damaging his left hamstring while running between the wickets.
“It’s a bit early to say, but I think the surgeon and the doctors were sort of anywhere between 12 and 16 weeks from the date of your surgery is when you’re looking to get back playing again, so I’ll hopefully have a bat in my hand well before that,” Buttler said on 'For The Love Of Cricket' podcast.
Buttler, who has already been ruled out of England’s ongoing tri-series in Pakistan and their upcoming tour of Australia, made it clear that he will not take unnecessary risks to accelerate his comeback. However, he is targeting SA20 as a fitting platform for his comeback.
“January time, there’s some England games in South Africa; they might come a bit too soon, but SA20 is probably a goal that is in the back of my mind,” he said.
“It is never straightforward or linear, is it? You’ll probably have some really good weeks, might have a week where it pushes you back,” he said.
“But I definitely don’t want to rush it. There’s so much cricket ahead next year, and obviously a few more years – hopefully – left of my career. If it takes me a week or two longer to get it right, I’m going to take that time," Buttler added.