'I have worked hard to get back to normal and I am now ready to play' - Faf du Plessis on his return after a concussion forced break

Faf du Plessis is confident that he is fully fit to take the field once again. The South African cricketer was forced to take a break from the game after he suffered a severe concussion during the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Faf du Plessis collided with a teammate of his, and as a result, missed a few months of cricketing action. The 37-year-old stated that he tried to play in The Hundred tournament, but he still suffered concussion symptoms, and it got worse when he wielded the willow.

Faf du Plessis added that he has worked in a rehab program, and a few specialists in England have helped him as well. The right-handed batsman even stated that he has just one last hurdle to cross, after which he will be ready to play cricket once again.

“I went over for the first match [in the Hundred] to try and play, but I still suffered quite severe concussion symptoms quite badly and especially with the batting it got worse.

It’s been three or four weeks since then [during] which I have worked hard in trying to get back to normal with a good rehab programme, and specialists in England helped me with. Today is the last hurdle when [I am] just making sure I pass the full practice at full intensity. And if I do that, then I’ll be ready to play [his team’s CPL opener],” said du Plessis as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

There is a lot of cricket this year and I still need to play: Faf du Plessis

Faf du Plessis further revealed that missing out on three months of cricketing action is not a nice feeling, and added that he needs to get back to the field as there is still a lot of cricket left this year.

“There’s a lot of cricket this year that I still need to play. As I mentioned earlier, missing three months of cricket is not something that is very nice. So I am just really looking forward to getting back out on the field,” said du Plessis.

The IPL will restart in 3 weeks’ time, and du Plessis will offer his services for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) side. Adding that the MS Dhoni-led side is more balanced for the UAE leg than for the first half of the tournament, du Plessis concluded by stating that he hopes that the CSK outfit can continue from where they left off in the first half of the competition.

“I think our squad at Chennai is better balanced for the Dubai leg than it was for the previous [half of] IPL. Second thing [is that] we had been playing some really good cricket in the first half of the IPL, so I hope that form is something that can hopefully continue – similar to myself, [I] had a really strong first half of the IPL. So I’d like to continue [from] where I left off. But for now, it is just about getting back to playing cricket,” concluded du Plessis.