"Used To Take Three Painkillers A Day": When Sachin Feared End Of Career

India batting great Sachin Tendulkar completed the half-century of his life on Monday, April 24. The Master Blaster, who celebrated his 50th birthday on Monday, had an illustrious playing career, breaking several records, which he holds till date. Ahead of his 50th birthday, Tendulkar spoke in detail about the various factors revolving around his career, including a tennis elbow injury that troubled him in the mid-2000. Tendulkar revealed that the injury led to speculations about the early end of his illustrious career

"Back in the 90s, today with the technology and multiple things happening around in the medical field back surgery was a big one but not kind of the end of your career. But at that stage, I was so worried, it could possibly be the end of my career if the surgery went bad. I was struggling because I had suffered so much while standing I could not even go and touch my knees, I couldn't bend at all, if I had to sit in a chair like this, it wouldn't be longer than 2-3 minutes at a stretch. I had to keep changing my positions, which was a nightmare [sic]. Possibly that I would say," Tendulkar told News18 Cricketnext in an interview.

Tendulkar further revealed that he had to take "three painkillers a day" to reduce the discomfort.

"I would take painkillers as if there was no tomorrow, literally three painkillers a day, before every session I would take one painkiller and go out to play. I pushed my body to the limit, and then I was also advised that I should undergo major surgery," Sachin added.

Tendulkar is the leading run-scorer in Tests and ODIs. He is the only cricketer to have hit 100 international centuries, and the first to score a double century in ODIs.

Tendulkar received India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna in 2014. He is the youngest recipient to date and the first ever sportsperson to receive the award.