LONDON (CMC):

DAVID LLOYD, the former England Test player and coach, said Andrew Flintoff's forced layoff from the game could be a "blessing in disguise" for the all-rounder's career.

The 29-year-old Flintoff, an explosive batsman and a pene-trative right-arm pace bowler, is expected to undergo ankle surgery this weekend to deal with a troublesome recurrence of an injury that has kept him out of the first two Tests against the West Indies.

Completely rested

"It's a terrible shame for him, but it might also help him," Lloyd said. "It will help that he's completely rested because his workload is far greater than anyone else's. He won't under-stand that this might just be a blessing in disguise that he will be rested up, refreshed and raring to go when he comes back again."