Sachin Tendulkar thinks back to batting with an unknown injury for almost four months

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar had been no stranger to injuries during his 24-year-old exceptional international career. He hardly missed a match for India in the first half of his international career. However, from the year 1999 onwards, he got hit injuries one after the other. Some of the injuries among many include the back spasm in 1999, the fractured ankle in 2001, and the terrifying tennis elbow.

In 2007, Pakistan had toured India for a five ODI and three-test series. It was during that time, he suffered an injury that went unnoticed for 4 months. Sachin Tendulkar recalled being hit by a Shoiab Akhtar delivery on his rib cage. That hit left him in pain for quite a while. He continued to bat for team India only to realize 4 months later that he has a broken rib. It was painful to play in that condition. He even designed his own chest guard. For almost 3 months, he could not cough or sleep on his stomach. The pain did not stop him from playing the game he loved. He continued to play and completed the ODI and Test at home. Then he went on to play in Australia on behalf of India to play some more cricket. Tendulkar admitted to playing whatever cricket he could play.

The ODI series where he goes hurt took place in early November

After that, Tendulkar kept on playing. He then toured Australia in 2007-08 for the Border Gavaskar trophy, which featured four Tests. Team India lost that series 1-2. India then played Australia and Sri Lanka in the VB tri-series. By winning the first two finals, India won the series. During this time, Tendulkar recalled, suffering another injury. It was this injury that made him realize that he had broken a rib earlier.

The injury he suffered in Australia was a groin injury. After returning back home, he did a full-body scan. His doctor told him about the broken rib. Sachin Tendulkar was not worried about his rib. The groin injury worried him more. He wanted to get fit before the start of IPL but he could not do so. He had to miss the first seven matches of the IPL. The broken rib troubled him for two more months before he recovered completely.

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