NEW DELHI, July 13: India's premier batsman Sachin Tendulkar has fully recovered from the shoulder surgery he underwent in March, which also sidelined him for the recent successful West Indies tour.

“It is feeling quite good,” Tendulkar told reporters on Thursday, and he will now face a fitness test ahead of a one-day tri-series in Sri Lanka starting on Aug 14.

After the operation, Tendulkar spent six weeks in England for rehabilitation and to play in a series of charity games, which also provided him useful match practice.

Tendulkar, who holds the records for most test and one-day hundreds, has suffered a series of niggling injuries since making his India debut as a 16-year-old in 1989, but he said the latest setback was the most difficult.

“After past injuries, I felt I could come straight back, but this time it was a big injury,” he said. “It took me a lot of time to fix it and get back to action.”

Unfortunately for Tendulkar, the surgery forced him to miss the historic Test series victory in West Indies last month, India's first there for 35 years.

“I was extremely disappointed,” he said. “I tried my level best, but there are certain injuries you have to respect them.

“Getting the test series was fabulous,” he said. “The guys played extremely well.”

On a sad note, Tendulkar took time to praise the unity shown by people in his hometown Mumbai after Tuesday's serial blasts had killed at least 186 people and left hundreds of others wounded.

“It is extremely sad so many lives were lost. I just hope and pray it doesn't happen again,” he said.

Tendulkar returned home from England a day after the blasts had targeted suburban trains in the evening rush hour.—Reuters