Alfonso Thomas has revealed that he is a "couple of weeks ahead of schedule" as he continues his recovery from a freak golf accident in October.
The Somerset bowler suffered a broken ankle when he slipped while playing golf, forcing him to miss any potential involvement in the recent Big Bash League, but says his rehabilitation is going well.
Thomas said: “It’s been a slow and tedious road but I’ve been patient and am now probably a couple of weeks ahead of schedule. Jamie (Thorpe, Somerset physio) has been working his socks off with me and he deserves a lot of credit as does Daz (Darren Veness, Somerset strength and conditioning coach) as he’s been helping me with my rehab and getting me as strong as possible. Now it’s just a case of building things up.”
The recovery has been going so well that Thomas has been enjoying his first bit of bowling since the setback, something he says has been a big relief following the nature of the injury.
The veteran, who celebrates his 38th birthday on Monday, said: “I’ve been doing a little bit of bowling now and I’ve been like a kid in a candy store! It was like playing cricket for the first time again!
“If someone had told me in October that I would be bowling again at the end of January I would have said that they were having a laugh, given the pain and the swelling that I had.
“It was only off about a six-yard run-up but that’s probably going to be my stock pace for the season!
“We’re just slowly and surely getting the ankle used to impact more than anything else at the moment. We’ve been happy with what we’ve seen so far. There’s no pain but a bit of tightness which is only to be expected.”
He went on to reveal that he will be stepping up his comeback during pre-season, adding: “We’ve set ourselves goals and I’m going out to Spain with the Tom Maynard Trust Academy later this month which will give me the opportunity to get outdoors earlier and I think that will give us an ideal gauge of where we are at.
“After that I’ll be heading back to Spain with the rest of the squad for a pre-season camp in March and that is when I'm aiming to go full tilt for the first time.
“Jason Kerr, Daz and Jamie are keeping me on a pretty tight leash and are making sure that I stay on track with the recovery programme."
Great to see .@alfonsothomas is on the road to recovery. http://t.co/LkH0eoFPRf#wearesomerset
— Somerset Cricket (@SomersetCCC) January 27, 2015