16 September 2023 , 10:17
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Piers Morgan has revealed that Andrew Flintoff "sounded very positive" when he exchanged WhatsApp messages with the ex-England cricketer - nine months since his horror crash.
Flintoff made his first public appearance at England's game against New Zealand last Friday following the car accident he was involved in while filming a segment for Top Gear last December. The 45-year-old suffered facial injuries and broken ribs in the accident at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey, where he had been driving an open-topped three-wheel Morgan Super 3 at 130mph.
He was handed a route back into cricket by his good friend and former team-mate Rob Key, who is the managing director of the England team. Although Flintoff attended this summer's Ashes series as a guest of Key, he did not message Morgan for eight months before finally getting back in touch.
Morgan told The Sun: "For eight months, I’d sent my old mate Freddie Flintoff regular WhatsApp entreaties asking how he was getting on since the horrific car smash that he suffered while filming his hit BBC show Top Gear.
"And for eight months, there was no reply; just a constant, increasingly unsettling silence from a guy who I’ve known for 20 years, texted with very often, and who I consider a great friend. The longer the silence went on, the more worried I grew about what exactly had happened to him in an accident I knew he’d been lucky to survive."
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"Finally, last Friday, with no fuss or announcement, Freddie appeared in public for the first time, on the pitch with the England team in Cardiff as they prepared to play New Zealand in a one-day international," Morgan added.
Freddie Flintoff's injuries can still be seen nine months on from his horror crash (PA)"His famously handsome face still carried quite shocking visible evidence of the terrible wounds he suffered in the crash, but otherwise, he looked like the old Fred – laughing and joking as he helped the players practice.
"I texted him, and Rachael, to say how happy the photos had made me, and to my amazement, Freddie replied.
"I won’t say what he wrote in his message because he’s said nothing publicly yet about what happened that fateful day last December, and it’s for him to choose what he wants to say when he decides to say it. But he sounded very positive, and said he was loving being back around the cricket world again."
On Tuesday, Flintoff was pictured training England's white-ball captain Jos Buttler and experienced star Jonny Bairstow. The two-time Ashes winner hurled balls at the batters in the nets using a launcher, similar to those used by dog walkers.