LAHORE: Pakistan's premier javelin thrower and world silver medallist Arshad Nadeem's medical reports relating to his injury have been shared by the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) with the London-based orthopedic surgeon Dr Ali Sher Bajwa.
"Yes we have forwarded his medical reports to Dr Ali Sher Bajwa and we are waiting for his advice," a senior official of the AFP confided to The News.
The official said that Arshad will soon come to Lahore to begin his rehab.
"His coach Salman Butt is in Bangkok and when he returns Arshad will join him at the Punjab capital for starting light training and rehab," the official said.
Arshad recently pulled out of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou due to a knee injury.
According to AFP sources, Arshad had moved to Hangzhou well fit and it was there that he developed a right knee injury which deprived him and the country of the opportunity to win a medal in the quadrennial event where the nation put up a disappointing performance, getting only one silver and two bronze. This was the second major event in the last few months which Arshad missed.
He had also missed the Asian Championship in Bangkok in August due to a right knee injury which he had developed during the 34th National Games in Quetta in May. AFP's plan to send Arshad to Germany for training to prepare for Olympics also will depend on his fitness. The AFP has also shared his fitness details with his South African coach who is a German, an AFP source told this correspondent.
"We cannot send him to Germany unless he recovers," an AFP official said. "If he does not do techniques in Germany due to fitness issues then sending him abroad will have no benefit."
Injuries have plagued Arshad's career in recent months.
Last year too he carried knee and elbow injuries but despite that he was able to pull off top performances in the Commonwealth Games in England and Islamic Games in Turkey. He underwent surgeries of right elbow and left knee in London last year and he recovered well before claiming the first ever silver for Pakistan in the World Championship in Hungary this summer which made him popular.
Meanwhile, Arshad's family sources told The News that the athlete is in Mian Channu these days.
"He is in Mian Channu. He is doing light exercises. He is expected to move to Lahore by November 1 to begin his rehab there properly," his family source said.
Arshad lives in Mian Channu city while his parents reside at village. The source said that after the Asian Games Arshad visited his birth place in Mian Channu to meet his parents.
Arshad is Pakistan's lone medal hope in the 2024 Paris Olympics. He qualified for the Paris Olympics with a massive throw of 87.82 metre he managed in the World Championship in Budapest which also earned him historic silver. AFP is focusing on Arshad and Pakistan No2 Mohammad Yasir Sultan who on Wednesday narrowly missed a bronze medal in the Asian Throwing Championship in South Korea.
Yasir, whose best throw is 79.93 metre, also has to his credit bronze in the Asian Championship in Bangkok. Both Arshad and Yasir are carrying injuries.
Yasir injured his left elbow during the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou which also deprived him of a medal as he finished fourth with a throw of 78.13 metre. Meanwhile Arshad Nadeem also confirmed that he would come to Lahore in five to seven days to begin his training and rehab.
"InshaAllah I will come in five to seven days," Arshad told The News.
Alam Zeb Safi Alam Zeb Safi is a senior reporter for The News