IPL 2022: Kane Williamson hopeful of recovery from elbow injury before league resumption

IPL 2022: SunRisers Hyderabad captain Kane Williamson is hopeful of being fit to feature in this year's league after opting against surgery on his troublesome elbow.

New Zealand and Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Kane Williamson is hopeful of being fit for IPL 2022 after opting against surgery for a long-standing elbow injury.

Williamson has been retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 14 crore ahead of this year's mega auction, but he has struggled with fitness for the past few months and will also miss New Zealand's upcoming Test series against South Africa.

"I've had it for a long time now, so this period of time is to try and get it right. I guess the timing of this period is sort of dictated by injury," Williamson said.

"It is progressing, which is a good thing, and there's still quite a bit of time between now and then, or now and some of the Netherlands games perhaps. There's nothing definite, but it is progressing. So I'm hopeful that I'll be back on the field as soon as possible.

"Last [IPL] season was an example as well, where I wasn't involved initially and it was elbow-related as well. The franchise was great and supportive of it.

"I'm optimistic that it will continue to improve. The [T20] format, in particular, is slightly more friendly to manage1 the load. So, we will wait and see, but it is taking steps forward, which is positive."

Williamson described the option of surgery as a "last resort".