Former England skipper and legendary Sir Ian Botham has warned against all-rounder Andrew Flintoff being rushed back into international cricket.

Flintoff, who is due for selection in next week's Test squad against New Zealand, has returned to county action with reasonable success after a fourth ankle operation last October.

"I would just hold Fred back a bit. I'd like him to play a bit more county cricket," Botham was quoted as saying to BBC Sport.

"I'd like him to have plenty of overs under his belt and plenty of runs as a batsman come the South Africans (later in the summer), because I think that will be a much sterner test.

"I'd just like him to be given that time to get his confidence back; full confidence in his body and more importantly in that ankle," Botham added.

"But he also knows this is really make-or-break time because he's 30 years old and he's had four operations on it, so it's got to be right," he added.