LONDON, June 24: England cricket coach Peter Moores is tipping star all-rounder Andrew Flintoff to recover from injury and return to action before the end of the summer.

Flintoff underwent his third ankle operation at the start of June and missed the entire 3-0 Test series victory over the West Indies.

But Moores insists the surgery has proved effective and he expects the Lancashire all-rounder to return later this summer.

“The first challenge is to get Andrew playing again. Things are going well with his ankle,” he said.

“The damage on his ankle was located and it was fixed. It's nice for a sportsman to know exactly what the problem is and to know that it can be fixed.

“The surgeon is very confident that when Andrew's back – the ankle will be fully functional again.

“If things go well then we'll see a fit Andrew Flintoff later on this summer. I'm very excited about getting Andrew back in the team because of the way he plays his cricket.”

Moores is convinced Paul Collingwood is the right man to lead England's one-day side and explained the thinking behind Kevin Pietersen's decision to declare himself out of the running for the job.

“Paul has been a key member of the one-day side and has played over 100 one-day matches, so he has great experience,” Moores said.

“He's in the heart of the action. It's a tough challenge for him because he's a key man but he has a very good cricket brain.”—AFP