Matt Prior admits he is uncertain whether he will be able to continue his cricket career.

The Sussex wicketkeeper is currently recovering from surgery to cure an Achilles problem which forced him to step down from the England team midway through last summer.

Prior says his rehabilitation is ahead of schedule and hopes to be ready to begin pre-season training in February but says he won’t fully know if his body will stand up to the demands of first class cricket until the season begins in April.

The former Brighton College pupil said: “I am ahead of schedule, which is great news, but nobody really knows for sure exactly when I will be ready to play again. It is easy for a consultant to say I will be able to keep wicket again but they are not fully aware what goes into it.

“You can do all the rehab work but until you spend four days in the field you don’t know how the body will react. What I do know is that I am going to give my body the best chance by working as hard as possible over the winter to get myself fit.

“If I can’t play for England again then I want to contribute at Sussex and help us get back to winning trophies. That is my goal and I am pretty determined to achieve that.

“But I have had a serious injury and I don’t know if I will ultimately be able to do that. I don’t want to be pessimistic but I am realistic and I probably won’t know for sure until I start playing again.”

Prior was named England’s player of the year just 18 months ago but endured a torrid time during the Ashes in Australia last winter when he was dropped in favour of Jonny Bairstow for the final two Tests.

The 32-year-old regained his place in the England side after proving his fitness with Sussex at the start of last season but broke down again during the summer and played the last of his 79 Tests for England against India at Lord’s in July.

He added: “I have got to stay positive but I have had to think about the possibility of not getting back to where I was. That would be disappointing as I haven’t achieved everything I set out to yet but I’ve also done some pretty cool things like win the Ashes three times.

“Ultimately if I have injured myself due to giving everything I possibly could to the team then I can’t be too upset.”

Don't miss Steve Hollis's in-depth interview with Matt Prior in The Argus today