Chris Woakes has dismissed concerns surrounding his knee, insisting that it is not a threat to his international career.

Woakes suffers from tendinitis in his right knee and he’s admitted that his situation requires careful management. The all-rounder was benched for the entire duration of the Test series in the West Indies and was also rested from the second ODI in Barbados. He’s expected to play the third match in Grenada on Monday, February 25, and is keen to play a part in the World Cup and Ashes this year.

“It’s not a concern,” he told reporters. “By no means do I feel I’m coming to the end or it’s the end of my career.

“My knee is something I’ve had to manage for the past eight years. It’s just a dodgy knee from too much bowling. There’s other guys around, who’ve probably got the same. It comes with the territory. It’s not something I’m overly worried about.”

Insisting that he did his best to stay fit, he added, “Of course it’s in the back of my mind but I know I can get through two games in three days. It was just felt it wasn’t worth risking it the other day (in the second ODI). I keep the rest of my body in good condition and do everything I can to stay fit. If something freak happens and I break down that’s part of professional sport but I feel fit now and I’m good to go.

“We have looked at the World Cup schedule, and it’s not as tight as you might think. That might work in my favour. I got through four Ashes Tests last winter, plus all the warm-up games, the five ODIs, plus four ODIs in New Zealand. I had this then. I know I can get through cricket.”

The 29-year-old from Birmingham has 115 ODI wickets at 30.62 and 1039 runs at 27.34 in 81 matches. Without him in the side, England failed to take a wicket in the Powerplay in the second ODI, which they lost. Should he play, the team will want him to quickly send back the dangerous Chris Gayle, who has a hundred and fifty so far in the series.

'We’ll see in the next games whether we do learn from it or not. I played the Caribbean Premier League last year and there is a lot of talent around these islands.'

Eoin Morgan wants progression after dramatic batting collapse again costs England ?https://t.co/JDxAmElveO

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 23, 2019

“You have a job as a new-ball bowler to try and take wickets,” Woakes said on his role. “It’s the time when you’re most likely to get a little bit of movement. It’s tricky because most of the time the ball skids on and the batters are looking to score. But when batters are looking to score that gives you opportunities to take wickets.”

He saw positives in how the England bowlers so far have dealt with Chris Gayle. “Up front he hasn’t got away from us, we’ve got a lot of dot balls on him,” Woakes pointed out. “Don’t get me wrong, that’s not always the way he plays. It has been in the first two ODIs but we’ve played games against him where he’s gone from ball one. You need to expect the unexpected with him.

“He can easily come out and try and hit you for six from the first few balls. Dot balls are great but at the same time we want to be getting him out. We’re looking at a few different plans to try and get him a bit earlier because when he gets in, he’s destructive. It’s exciting to watch unless you’re bowling.”