Liam Livingstone has revealed he was not fully fit during England's T20 World Cup winning campaign and is "still not 100%" ahead of a potential Test debut against Pakistan.
Livingstone suffered an ankle injury in August, having tripped on a kerb while "trying to dodge a puddle". The injury ruled him out of the remainder of The Hundred and left him facing a race against time for the World Cup.
He returned to action in the final warm-up game and ultimately featured in every World Cup match, with England deciding it was worth the risk to play him. Livingstone was at the other end as Ben Stokes hit the winning runs in the final and says his World Cup medal "made all the struggles worth it".
"I fell down a kerb trying to dodge a puddle, one morning when we were going out for breakfast in London," Livingstone told the Daily Mail. "The whole winter flashed in front of my eyes.
"It was a 12 week injury, with seven weeks and four days till the first World Cup game. It's still not 100% and it wasn't through the World Cup.
"I didn't actually start sprinting till a week before the first World Cup game but letting my mum and dad fly home with a World Cup medal made all the struggles worth it." Livingstone is now in Abu Dhabi with England's Test team preparing for a historic tour of Pakistan.
The 29-year-old is competing with Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed for the second spinner role behind Jack Leach and he is expected to be 100% in time for the first Test in Rawalpindi, which begins on December 1.
And the opportunity to play Test cricket is one Livingstone thought had passed him by, having made a conscious decision to focus on white-ball that means he has not played a first-class match in more than a year.
"I kind of accepted the fact that it was never gonna happen actually," he admitted. "I'm not exactly young and I had plenty of opportunities to live my career elsewhere.
"I accepted it and was pretty content. So, honestly, it did [come as a shock]. Obviously, the coach and the captain has changed and it's obvious that suits me and my style."
