With India’s Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan around the corner, the last thing Prakash Amritraj (picture right) would want is a flare-up of the wrist injury that has plagued him over the past one year. After his surgery just a few months ago, he appeared to be regaining his form and fitness, having narrowly missed out on qualification for the Australian Open.This week, though, he withdrew from the Challenger event in Guangzhou, China, citing problems with the left wrist again. However, the 24-year-old insists it is nothing to worry about. “I had a couple of tough matches in last week’s Futures tournament, and it was really cold in China. In such conditions, the body tends to stiffen up a bit, and it would have affected my wrist as well. After my surgery, I’ve had to take certain precautions, and my first aim is to stay injury-free for the next 12 months at least. So I withdrew purely as a precautionary measure,” he said, speaking to The Indian Express.“There is no cause for concern as regards the Davis Cup tie, and I’m really looking forward to playing for the country at home,” he added. Prakash had reached the second round of the Futures tournament in Dong Guan, in China, before bowing out to Korea’s Woong Soon Jun in three sets. He was scheduled to play second seed Yen Hsun Lu in the Challenger event this week.Prakash is currently in Mumbai, having arrived there from Chennai today. He will be reaching the Capital on Friday morning. He and Rohan Bopanna are expected to play the singles for the tie, which takes place from February 8-10.
