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Graeme Smith out for season with knee injury

ESPNcricinfo staff
May 22, 2014
For the second season running an injury has hit Graeme Smith © PA Photos
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Graeme Smith has been ruled out of the rest of the English season after fracturing his right knee. He will return to South Africa and his former national team-mate, Hashim Amla, will arrive for a month-long stint with Surrey while Gary Wilson will take on the captaincy this week.

It continues a blighted stint for Smith as Surrey captain after he signed a three-year deal in late 2012. His first season, last year, was cut short when he needed ankle surgery and now this summer is curtailed after less than two months.

Alec Stewart, the Surrey director of cricket, revealed Smith had been battling the pain for the last week or so during which the county had seen an upturn in results after a tricky start to the season.

"He's done his very best to play through a lot of pain. He's taken a lot of pain killers to get through the last 10 days or so," Stewart told BBC London. "But the scans showed the fracture and it was non-negotiable, he had to go for this operation.

"You have to accept it, and the good thing is we've been able to get Hashim Amla over at short notice. Cricket South Africa have been excellent with their dealings and we'll have him for the majority of June and then we'll see where we are after that."

Smith retired from international cricket after the final Test against Australia, in Cape Town, but said he was fully committed to seeing through his Surrey deal.

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