BENGALURU: KL Rahul was at the Royal Challengers Bangalore ’s team hotel on Thursday morning, catching up with his mates. His left shoulder, supported by a fancy sling, was hard to miss. Itching to carry his bat and walk out into the middle, Rahul, invaluable as he is to his IPL side, is with them in spirit.Even though there are moments when his eyes betray the equanimity he sports, it's fair to say that Rahul has taken the injury blow, which may keep him out of the Champions Trophy , in his stride. The top-order bat was operated on by Dr Lennard Funk, who specializes in shoulder injuries, on April 10 at The Arm Clinc in England. The 25-year-old returned to the city on Saturday night.Rahul injured his shoulder during the opening Test against Australia in Pune. He went through the four-match series battling pain. The Karnataka batsman emerged the second-highest run-getter for India behind Cheteshwar Pujara (405) with 393 runs from seven innings.“I will just have to wait and see but the chances are very, very slim,” he said of his chances of playing the Champions Trophy starting in England on June 1.Explaining why he needed surgery, Rahul said, “I had torn my labrum (a ring of fibrocartilage). I couldn’t get into a few positions because my shoulder kept dislocating - popped out and popped back in. That’s why I couldn’t play a lot of shots, had to restrict myself. I played with a lot of medication and taping. Surgery was to fix it on the inside.”On the recovery period, he added, “They said it will take anywhere close to 2 to 3 months. But again, it depends, each body is different, you don’t know how the body recovers. It is totally up to me and how I well I take care of myself in the rehab phase. For now, it is just 2-3 weeks of relaxing and not doing anything and after that maybe I will start physiotherapy and my rehab phase will start from there.”Rahul’s injury is seen more in athletes who play contact sport and Rahul admitted the injury took everyone by surprise. “It is a sportsman injury but the doctor was surprised that it happened because of batting. Mostly happens in contact sport where people run into you and damage your shoulder. Even our physio (Patrick Farhart) and I were surprised because there was no major incident when I felt that I did something. It was just that moment in Pune when I played that shot – not the one I got out but the one that I hit that went for six (lofted Steve O’Keefe down the ground). That’s when I knew that my shoulder dislocated and went back in. Obviously I got out again playing the same shot, so by then I think it was completely damaged, couldn’t do anything after that.”The other Indian batsman to have battled a similar injury was Rohit Sharma. “I was talking to Rohit, he also had a similar injury where he played a shot and he did something to his shoulder. I remember a few people doing something like this, it is very weird. You never know what is a common injury and what is a sportsman’s injury. It was the first time I felt it. That’s what makes it even more complicated, to figure out how that problem started.”Rahul, who has missed some crucial matches since making his Test debut against Australia in 2014 due to injuries, says it’s frustrating to be out of cricket action, but it gives him time to introspect.“It is very frustrating for a young man who is just new to international cricket - two and a half years now. I’ve already been injured twice or thrice. But it also makes me sit and wonder what I am doing wrong, if it is my fitness. I can’t see any reason why I keep getting injured so much because I am very disciplined with my fitness regime, diet and I really look after my body. So that is what is very frustrating for me - knowing that I am ticking all the boxes and doing all I can yet keep ending up with injuries. I think now is the time to sit down and see where I was going wrong, or what I could change in my training. It has to be something that I am doing wrong in my training. To be injury-free is a very wishful thought for a sportsman, but at least to be fit for as long as you can and minimise the injuries will be my goal once I get back, or starting from today,” Rahul said.Asked if the injuries were due to the excess time spent in the gym, Rahul pointed out, "Maybe. There are various theories that can say why we are getting injured. Obviously, if I look at the last one year, the first thing that comes to my mind is the amount of cricket I have played. This is the year where I have played all the three formats and it is my first year like that. Earlier, it was just Test cricket and come back and play Ranji Trophy, so there used be a lot of breaks, time to rest and recover and train and get fit for the next tournament. But this year, I played all the three formats, so the recovery period became so much less, travel days were more. So it was a very new thing. I didn’t know how hard to push in the gym or how important it was to take rest, when to step back. So I had to figure that along the way and I think it will slowly happen. I am not big on getting big muscles or looking good for the camera.“It’s just how I could become stronger yet lighter - that is my mantra and that is how I want to be. I am still young and still figuring out what is right for my body and what suits my body the best. It’s all a learning process for me and I just have to take it as it comes. I can’t really complain. I have had a few injuries but I have also had one of the biggest years, one of the best years of my career so far. So you can’t always have it the good way. I have to learn and it is good... Injuries always humble you and teach you to respect your body and respect certain things. Value your position, value the sport you play, it can all go away very quickly. It is not the worst thing but obviously missing out on cricket and missing out on important tournaments will hurt you a little bit but just trying to brush it off and get stronger.”