England batsman Kevin Pietersen maintains he will be fit in time for the first Test against Sri Lanka on May 26.
Batsman targets return in Cardiff opener
Kevin Pietersen maintains he will be fit in time for England's first Test against Sri Lanka this summer.
The batsman has set his sights on featuring in the Cardiff opener, which gets under way on May 26.
Pietersen was forced to cut his World Cup campaign short after being diagnosed with a double hernia and went under the knife in mid March.
The Surrey right-hander, who has previously suffered with Achilles tendon trouble, is confident he will recover in time for the start of the international summer.
"I'm feeling OK - the operation did go real well," Pietersen told the ECB's
official website.
"I had to wait some time to let the surgery settle down and the scars to get themselves sorted and the wound to go ok, and it's just a process now of looking after the rehabilitation to make sure that's a success so that I'm back as soon as I can be.
Positive thinking
"Nothing has changed since the press release went out (following his surgery) - I'm looking to get back for the first Test match.
"That's my goal. Hopefully the rehabilitation process goes smoothly and I don't have any hiccups like the last time with my Achilles. Positive thinking, things are going to go well and I'll be fine for the first Test."
Pietersen admits it was difficult for him to pull out of England's World Cup squad, but insists he had no alternative.
"It was ridiculously hard, but against South Africa I just couldn't run any more," he explained. "I thought I just had one hernia, which I knew about on the left-hand side, but it turned out I had a double hernia when the surgeon opened me up.
"So it's no surprise I couldn't run, it's no surprise I was in that amount of pain and it's no surprise that the painkillers weren't working!"
