MANCHESTER, England – West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell successfully underwent surgery to address the injury to his left knee, which earlier this week ruled him out of the ICC Cricket World Cup. The 31-year-old had the procedure at a local facility and will return to Jamaica to continue his rehabilitation.

Before the laparoscopy or keyhole surgery, Russell expressed that the surgery was necessary to remedy what has been a long-standing cloud over his prolific career as a T20 cricketer, rated as perhaps the best in the world.

“The knees have been giving me problems for years now; when I get back I’ll be a better cricketer in terms of my fitness level,” he told the Jamaica Observer after announcing his recent withdrawal from the West Indies team.

Sunil Ambris has replaced Russell, who played four games for the West Indies during the ongoing ICC World Cup campaign.

Yesterday, he posted a picture from his hospital room on Instagram, under which he stated that the surgery was a success.

Russell played four of West Indies’ six matches in the World Cup before being replaced by Sunil Ambris, who joined the team on Tuesday.

Russell had a major impact in the West Indies win over Pakistan, where he took two wickets for four runs in a hostile three-over spell at Trent Bridge. Overall he ended with just five wickets from 19 overs. He scored 36 runs from three innings.