Andrew Flintoff’s first appearance for England as a freelance one-day player is likely to be in the World Twenty20 in the West Indies next spring, rather than the one-day series in Bangladesh starting on February 28.

After his retirement from Test cricket in August, Flintoff had surgery on his right knee in August and hoped to recover for the three-match series against Bangladesh.

Now it is more likely that he will return for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, which begins on March 12. "Before the operation, I said that I’d like to go to Bangladesh with the one-day squad, but that might be unrealistic," Flintoff said yesterday. "I’ve got the IPL shortly after that, and then the World Twenty20 [starting on April 30]. I just want to get playing as soon as I can, but to give a date is difficult at the moment," Flintoff, who rejected the ECB’s offer of an increment contract, was back at Old Trafford yesterday, having finalised a new three-year deal to play one-day cricket for Lancashire. Next week, he will see his surgeon, Andy Williams, to have a scan to check on the progress of his knee, 12 weeks after his operation. The all-rounder has begun his rehabilitation in Dubai under the supervision of Charles Jones and has been able to put his crutches away in the past fortnight.

"I spent ten weeks hobbling around on crutches, chasing three kids around, which is not ideal," he said. "I feel I’m getting better now. I’m seeing the physio for an hour a day, I’ve started gently cycling and I spend a lot of time in the pool, for 1½ to two hours per day. Hopefully when I’ve seen the surgeon next week, I can progress more and build up towards running again."