• The Ashes

Pietersen allays knee injury fears

England hope Kevin Pietersen will be fit to play in their final tour match after an injection in his knee © Getty Images

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Kevin Pietersen has played down injury fears ahead of the Ashes after flying to Melbourne for an injection for his chronic knee problem.

Having missed three Tests against New Zealand and the Champions Trophy earlier in 2013 due to the same issue, Pietersen complained of discomfort during the Australia A tour match in Hobart. He flew separately from the England team to Melbourne for a cortisone jab. The treatment should allow him to take part in the tourists' final warm-up game in Sydney from Wednesday and the Test series beyond.

And Pietersen took to his Twitter account to allay concerns he may miss the first Ashes Test in Brisbane, which starts on November 21.

I AM FINE #relax

— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) November 10, 2013

Andy Flower, the England team director, is confident that the injection should settle the problem sufficiently for the remainder of the tour but it remains a worrying event for England following the calf trouble that has made the wicketkeeper and vice-captain Matt Prior a doubt for the Brisbane Test.

"Kevin has had a slight recurrence of that knee issue, and he'll be going to Melbourne for a scan and a cortisone injection - so he won't be travelling with the rest of the team," Flower said. "I don't think it's going to be a huge issue. He's had a couple of these injections before, and they've been successful.

"They've quietened the problem down, and it's obviously an ongoing issue for him. But they have been successful, and we anticipate this one being successful and anticipate him playing a full part in the Ashes tour. We anticipate him playing in the Sydney game. We're doing the jab tomorrow, so he's got a little bit of time for the jab to work before we train on Tuesday."

Pietersen made only the briefest appearance in the Hobart match, a 12-minute stay at the crease interrupted by rain delays and the lunch break on the final day before it was ended by a Trent Copeland shooter that pinned him in front of the stumps.

During the Ashes in England, Pietersen said that he would have to manage his knee for the rest of his career and he recently admitted in a video for the ECB website that he continued to harbour doubts. "I had the knee issue and I have to make sure the rehab continues," Pietersen said. "I don't want to break down, I want to play the whole series."

Cortisone injections are useful for chronic problems among cricketers, but only up to a point. Repeated use of the treatment can result in a lessening of its effectiveness, while also taking a toll on the joint itself - something Pietersen's former Hampshire team-mate Shane Warne experienced when having his overworked spinning finger repeatedly jabbed early in his career before finally resorting to surgery in 1996.

Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets here

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