Shoaib Akhtar asks fans for prayers ahead of major surgery

Former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar asked fans to pray for him before he jetted off to Melbourne where he will undergo a “complicated” knee reconstruction surgery — a procedure that will render the Rawalpindi Express unable to walk for around two weeks.

“I am going to Melbourne for my knee reconstruction. The doctors are saying that it will be a six to seven-hour surgery. I should not have to get implants at my age. I am only 44. I should have got this done after 60 but this is happening now,” he said.

“It is a very painful procedure. For the first week you cannot sleep since it feels like a sizzling hot iron rod has been inserted in your knee.”

Akhtar explained that he has been through the same surgery on his right knee before, and recalled that the post-operation experience is akin to losing your limbs.

“I have already got my left knee operated on. Now it’s the right one’s turn. I should be able to walk again in two to three weeks’ time because this is a major and complicated surgery. I’ve left my family behind. Just pray for me,” he requested.

“What they do in this operation is that they paralyse your legs and administer an injection in the spine so when you wake up you cannot feel your legs. It is akin to what those people feel who have lost their limbs.”