Black Caps allrounder Mitchell Santner will be able to bowl and bat as he makes his return to top-class cricket for the Northern Knights in the Super Smash opener against the Wellington Firebirds on Saturday.
The 26-year-old told Stuff there were "no concerns" about his surgically repaired right knee after only playing club cricket and for the Northern Districts A side since having surgery in March.
Santner began feeling pain his knee last summer, with doctors telling him it was from a bone defect in the joint that had been there for some time.
"I remember one game, in Nelson, [the knee] swelled up a bit and another piece of bone fell off, that bone was floating around and it came out in quite an important spot, so they had to clean that up to try and repair the cartilage a bit," he said.
After being cautious in his recovery, the spinning allrounder was keen to return to the Black Caps as soon as possible with the World Cup in May on the horizon.
The left-arm orthodox welcomed the strong competition in New Zealand’s spinning stocks with finger spinners Ajaz Patel and Will Somerville bursting onto the scene during the recent series win over Pakistan in the UAE.
Santner’s Northern Districts Ish Sodhi is also an option for the selectors as a wrist spinner.
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