LONDON, (Reuters) – Andrew Flintoff has no regrets  about playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) despite  suffering a knee injury that ruled him out of the first part of  England’s busy summer.

The Lancashire all-rounder said he already had his sights  set on facing Australia in the Ashes series starting in July  after undergoing surgery on a torn cartilage.

“My injury was building up and while it’s frustrating, at  least it happened now,” the injury-prone 31-year-old told The  Sun yesterday.

“There was always going to be people commenting about it.  But it wasn’t one incident that did it, it was a gradual thing  that had built up over time.

“I would have been playing for Lancashire had it not been  Chennai in the IPL, so this would have happened.”

Flintoff, who played for Chennai Super Kings, is expected  to be fit for the Twenty20 World Cup in June but says the  prospect of facing Australia is driving him on to get fit.

“When you’ve had the problems I’ve had, with the ankle  operations and now my knee, then it’s the dream of playing  Ashes cricket and beating Australia that keeps you going,” he  said.
“That’s the motivation during rehab but when the time comes  around I have to make sure I’m on top of my game, too.

“It is the series you want to play in. People ask if the  5-0 whitewash in 2006-07 motivates me for revenge. But, to be  honest, I don’t need any more motivation than just to play in  The Ashes again.”