England bowler Brydon Carse joked on Thursday that he considered amputating a persistently troublesome toe before medical staff persuaded him to consider a less drastic solution, pointing out he would struggle with his balance.
The express paceman has battled against longstanding problems with the second toe of his left foot.
He was forced to pull out of England's Champions Trophy campaign in Pakistan in February and withdraw from a lucrative deal in the Indian Premier League.
"It ended up being quite a severe wound I was playing with for the majority of the winter, it got infected a couple of times," Carse said ahead of England's first T20 against the West Indies at his home ground of Durham on Friday.
"It is a bit running joke in the changing room, my second toe. So we came up with the thought, 'Can we just get rid of the second toe'?
"Everyone has had their opinion on my second toe. At one stage I was going to bed thinking 'I could actually do this, I think I could get rid of my second toe' but then the medical staff said you need it for balance so that was quickly ruled out.
"I'm going to have to keep it a little bit longer."
Carse has taken various measures, including changing his boots, and had an extended break between February and May.
The South African-born player has only played five tests but he is increasingly viewed as a first-choice bowler for England across all formats.
He is set to play for England in one-day internationals, T20s and test cricket this month alone and knows his body will be pushed to the limit.
"Playing through all three formats is a challenge for anyone," Carse said.
"As we work through the summer I'm going to have to look after myself and those are always ongoing conversations but we've got an incredible support structure and medical staff."
England, who wrapped up a 3-0 win against the West Indies in their one-day international series on Tuesday, now take on the Caribbean team in three T20s, at Chester-le-Street, Bristol and Southampton.