Creamer targets June return from thumb surgery

London: Former world number two Paula Creamer, who had surgery last month to repair ligament damage in her left thumb, plans to return to the LPGA Tour in June.

The 23-year-old American, an eight-times champion on the US-based circuit, had a cast removed by her surgeon on Monday and will consult him again next week before starting physiotherapy sessions. "I`m ... excited to get started on the therapy with an eye on returning to play sometime in June," Creamer said on Wednesday in a statement released by her management company. "I know that having the surgery was the right thing to do for the long term, so my focus right now is working hard at rehab and coming back fully healthy. I can`t wait."Creamer, the world number 11 whose ranking has slipped from sixth at the end of last year, has played only one round on the LPGA Tour this season. She opened with a 69 at the Honda LPGA Thailand in February before being forced to withdraw. She then pulled out of the next three events on the schedule, including this month`s Kraft Nabisco Championship at Rancho Mirage, the opening major of the season. Creamer failed to win a single title on the 2009 LPGA Tour, despite recording 10 top-10 finishes, while struggling to fend off a mystery stomach ailment.The previous year, she triumphed four times on the circuit, becoming the fastest LPGA Tour player ever to pass the USD 4 and USD 5 million mark in career earnings. Bureau Report