Recovering from a tennis-elbow injury was the most difficult phase in Sachin Tendulkar’s illustrious career with the master batsman fearing he would never be able to hold a bat again after surgery in 2005.

Tendulkar bid an emotional farewell to the sport at his home Wankhede Stadium on Saturday, signing off as cricket’s most prolific run-scorer after a career that span-ned almost a quarter of a century.

Tendulkar was first diagnosed with the career-threatening injury in 2004 but continued to play through pain before being operated on a year later in London.

“It’s always very difficult when you suffer injuries,” he said.

“There used to be different goals every time I made a comeback. It’s not possible to recover earlier than scheduled by just working harder in the gym.”

The thought of giving up the sport for good crossed Tendulkar’s mind as he tried to get back on the field after the surgery.

“It took four-and-a half months to recover after the surgery on my tennis elbow. The doctor asked if I would be able to play competitive cricket at all,” he said.

“I could not even lift my son Arjun’s plastic bat. Kids aged 10-12 years had come to the ground for fielding the day I went to bat for the first time against a leather ball.

“I hit the balls hard but the kids were able to stop them within 10-15 yards. I thought ‘I cannot play anymore’.”