Laxman fit and raring to go

nagpur: v v s laxman, the man who laid the mighty australians low when they came here to conquer the ``final frontier'' earlier this year, is all set to unleash his willow magic after overcoming a knee injury. he is leading rest of india against baroda in the five-day irani trophy game starting here on saturday. laxman was shattered after his knee forced him to miss out on international action when he was in prime form.the elegant batsman got injured in sri lanka while fielding during a practice game. ``the doctors said that the fall on my right knee damaged the medial miniscus and cartilage behind the knee cap,'' laxman said on friday. ``but now i'm fine. there is absolutely no pain.'' when asked whether he is fit for the test series in south africa beginning next month, laxman quipped: ``i suppose selectors are watching me in this game.'' the recovery process was long and hectic. he came to hometown hyderabad from colombo after the fall, then went to dr michael johnson in sydney who performed a surgery on august 17. then followed a recovery programme under physiotherapist patrick farhart. the recovery time for such injuries is eight weeks which prompted laxman to convey to the board that he was available for the one-dayers in south africa. however, both farhart and leipus advised him to take things easy. as a result, a couple of days later, laxman conveyed to the board that he was not match fit which ruffled a few feathers in the board which, incidentally, had borne the expenses of laxman's treatment. was it possible to avoid the controversy? laxman said: ``my conscience was clear. i would not have liked to play until i was 100 per cent sure about my fitness.''