'Good news': Rishabh Pant undergoes successful knee ligament surgery; fans await star cricketer's comeback

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant underwent a successful knee ligament surgery on Friday at Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital. The star cricketer survived a horrific car accident on December 30 while driving from Delhi to his hometown Rourkee but lost control on the NH-58 highway before hitting the divider.

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"Rishabh Pant has successfully undergone knee ligament surgery on Friday. He will be under observation. Further course of action and rehabilitation will be advised by Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala and followed by the BCCI sports science and medicine team," PTI reported a BCCI source as saying.

Pant was airlifted from Dehradun to Mumbai on Wednesday to treat one of his knee's ligament tears. As soon as he arrived at the hospital in Mumbai, physicians checked him. Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, and other athletes were treated by Dr Pardiwala, the Head of the Centre for Sports Medicine and Director of Arthroscopy & Shoulder Service at the hospital.

The BCCI appreciated that Pant received timely care at the two hospitals in Uttarakhand but opted to have its medical staff address his injuries. While Pant's medical insurance will pay for his care, the board paid for the air ambulance.

It is too soon to estimate when Pant will be able to resume physical activity and then first-class cricket. The four home Test matches against Australia in February and March, a potential World Test Championship final in England in June, and the ODI World Cup in India in October and November are India's three major responsibilities in 2023. 

Also read: Rishabh Pant car accident: 'Hopefully, he'll recover soon and be back on the path' - Sourav Ganguly

Though it can't be completely ruled out, Pant's chances of participating in the Test series against Australia seem slim. The other major tournament is the IPL, where Pant will captain Delhi Capitals.

Rishabh Pant fans were relieved to learn the cricketer's surgery was successful and took to Twitter to wish the wicketkeeper-batter a speedy recovery. Here's a look at how cricket enthusiasts reacted:

(With inputs from PTI)