Reports of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni's knee injury on the eve of the team's opening match of IPL 2023 against Gujarat Titans (GT) left the fans of the legendary cricketer and the 4-time winning franchise, extremely worried.

As per a report in the Indian Express, the 41-year-old wicketkeeper-batter is battling a niggle in his left knee and is said to be a doubtful starter for the tournament opener. Dhoni also did not bat during the team's practice session on Thursday (March 30) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, according to PTI.

Dhoni, as reported by Sportstar, had been wearing a kneecap in recent practice sessions during the franchise's training camp in Chennai and took some painkiller injections as well.

READ ALSO: MS Dhoni likely to miss CSK’s opening fixture against Gujarat Titans due to injury – Report

When CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan was asked, he told PTI, “As far as I am concerned, the skipper is 100 percent playing. I don't know about any other development.”

At Dhoni's age, a niggle can flare up into something much more serious quite easily and that would be disastrous for CSK, who have already lost Kyle Jamieson and Mukesh Choudhary even before the tournament officially begins.

With a lot of travel and back-to-back games lined up for the franchise, it remains to be seen if Dhoni would risk aggravating the niggle at the start of the season or will choose the safer route of some extra days of rest to let the niggle heal completely.