LONDON, (Reuters) – England all-rounder Andrew  Flintoff has undergone a successful knee operation and expects  to be fit for the World Twenty20 in June, the England and Wales  Cricket Board (ECB) said yesterday.

Flintoff flew home from IPL duty in South Africa last week  having suffered a slight tear in a degenerative meniscus in his  right knee.

Hugh Morris, England Cricket managing director, told the ECB  website (www.ecb.co.uk): “The surgeon has informed the ECB chief  medical officer Nick Peirce that the operation went extremely  smoothly.

“I am grateful to the ECB medical team, the surgeon and  radiologists as well as the Chennai Super Kings for keeping the  England team management and me informed about Andrew’s injury  and the subsequent operation.”

The ECB said it expected Flintoff to make a “normal  recovery” and that he should be available for the World  Twenty20, which starts in England on June 5 and the subsequent  Ashes series against Australia beginning in July.

Flintoff had already been ruled out of England’s two tests  and three one-dayers against West Indies, starting on May 6.