Chris Woakes returned to action for England in the fifth T20I against Pakistan, having not played a professional game in six months.
The 33-year-old was sidelined following the Test series against the West Indies in March, dealing with several injury problems. "The body was aching and creaking," Woakes told the Mail on Sunday.
"I couldn't throw too well because of a shoulder niggle, my knee was sore and my ankle had flared up as well. Apart from that, I was good to go!"
Woakes added that it was his knee injury that "kept teasing me", with attempts at a return earlier this summer cut short. "I was getting to the stage where I was bowling at full tilt but then as soon as I bowled a little bit too much, I couldn't move the next day," he explained.
He managed just nine overs in an appearance for Warwickshire's second XI in June and was forced to undergo keyhole surgery the following month to address the issue, admitting at the time it was "the only chance I've got of getting back to full fitness".
And during his time on the sidelines, Woakes says memories of England's 2019 Cricket World Cup triumph helped keep him going as he now targets more glory at the T20 World Cup.
"I occasionally just go in and have a look at it [his World Cup winner's medal]," he added. "Not many people own them, do they?
"Even more so, as an Englishman. The thought of lifting a trophy again is a bit like a drug, I suppose.
"The motivation was always there to get back and play whatever cricket I could, really, but the carrot of a World Cup was huge, and that effectively set my deadline. It was a case of either having the surgery then, or not at all."
