"I've been training for a few weeks now... and I feel really good," Anderson tells Sky Sports News
Saturday 8 February 2020 13:38, UK
England fast bowler James Anderson says he is hoping to return from injury for next month's tour of Sri Lanka.
Anderson suffered a broken rib in the second Test against South Africa and missed the final two games in the series as England ran out 3-1 winners.
England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker is optimistic he will recover in time for the first Test against Sri Lanka which starts on March 19, live on Sky Sports Cricket.
"It's good, it's all healed and I'm back in the gym," Anderson told Sky Sports. "I've been training for a few weeks now, getting my bowling back up to speed. I feel really good."
"That's the aim [to be ready for Sri Lanka]. The aim for me is to get fit for whatever is next and at the moment that is Sri Lanka.
"With a broken bone you are just waiting for that to heal, you've not lost any fitness. It's about building my bowling back up now. We've got a month before that tour so we have to just wait and see what the selectors think.
"I'm not entirely sure [how I got injured]. The physios think it was through bowling so it was a bit of a freak. The pressure of me bowling has just gone in the wrong place and cracked my rib."
Anderson's potential return will provide a much-needed boost for England, who have already seen fast bowler Jofra Archer ruled out of the trip to Sri Lanka with a stress fracture of the right elbow.
Despite calls for Anderson to be rested for tours to the subcontinent due to the tricky conditions for fast bowlers, the 37-year-old said: "If I'm fit I want to be playing for England, wherever that might be.
"I showed in South Africa that I can still do it abroad. I think I've been unlucky in the last few months with injuries but I think my record before that has been pretty good injury-wise.
"I'm hoping I can keep fit as long as possible, if I'm fit then I want to be playing wherever England are."
Watch England's two-Test series in Sri Lanka, which features games in Galle and Colombo, live on Sky Sports Cricket in March.
