Would he? Will he? Since he ruptured his ACL on the opening night of IPL 2023, this has been the central concern surrounding Kane Williamson’s return to health.
Less than two months remain until the World Cup, but it must be said that for an injury that takes time to recover, Williamson has done exceptionally well to return to confronting throwdowns in roughly four months.
Williamson was circumspect when discussing his recovery, but he did confess to entertaining notions of “earlier targets” given his progress.
“If the knee is at a stage where that can be a reality, that’s great, but it very much is about getting it right and making sure it is ready to go when that time comes – whenever that time is,” Williamson said ahead of a net session in Mount Maunganui.
“You do have some good days, then you have a few variable ones. It’s all part of the journey, it’s hard to get too far ahead of yourself, because you see something really good in one place, but you still know there’s a lot of work to do.
“If I end up at a place where it’s realistic because all these bases are covered and it’s ticked off by the people who know a lot more about it than me, then that’s great.”
Although he has not been selected for New Zealand’s tour of England, Williamson remains a viable contender for the World Cup. Earlier in the tournament, head coach Gary Stead stated that they would “definitely be considering” selecting Williamson if he is available and match-ready.
“To potentially have that opportunity and use all those sorts of different, I suppose, scenarios to try and make that happen would be great,” Williamson said on getting picked for the World Cup. “It’s still just guesswork at the moment in terms of when the day is or how it’s tracking at the time. So, it is just about now and I’m working hard to keep it moving forward.”
New Zealand play Bangladesh in a three-match series, but Stead and Williamson are not concerned with that schedule. “This is a complicated situation. You begin to pursue a few earlier targets. It focuses heavily on the restorative aspect as well. You can have the strength training, the movement, and the confidence, but the actual healing must occur, and there are many factors to evaluate prior to that. Accordingly, this series (against Bangladesh) is premature.”
New Zealand opens the World Cup against England in Ahmedabad and is scheduled to play nine league matches in total.
