• Home
  • Breaking News
  • Travis Head Diagnosed With Finger Fracture Likely To Miss World Cup 2023

Travis Head Diagnosed With Finger Fracture; Likely to Miss World Cup 2023

image-lmldunotTravis Head (Source: X/CA)

 A massive blow struck the Australian camp in South Africa a month before the World Cup as their in-form batter Travis Head, who got smashed on his hand while batting, has been diagnosed with a fracture on his index finger during the fourth ODI in Centurion.

Head was in terrific form in this series, but now, will have to sit on the sidelines as his road to recovery begins with the clock ticking for the big event. It all happened during the final ball of the seventh over of the Australian innings when a short delivery from Gerald Coetzee ferociously struck the batter on his left hand while on the score of 9.

He was given medical attention and continued to bat but for just three more deliveries before walking off in unbearable pain scoring 11, putting Australia's plans in jeopardy for the World Cup.

Later, he was taken for X-rays at the hospital, and it turned out to be a fracture, confirmed Aussie coach Andrew McDonald, who also mentioned that further assessment would be done to understand the complexity of his situation.

"At this stage, it's a confirmed fracture, and how long that timeframe is, we're yet to determine that, so fingers crossed clearly with the World Cup fast approaching. I'm not a medical person, but I think it's a little bit higher up than the actual [index] finger itself. But I don't know the actual terminology. It's in a joint somewhere, so I won't go into the medical specifics. But, yeah, a confirmed fracture and to be assessed again tomorrow with another scan."

The massive blow to the side from down under comes after their seven players, namely Pat Cummins (wrist fracture), Steven Smith (wrist tendon), Mitchell Starc (groin), Glenn Maxwell (leg), Ashton Agar (soreness), Cameron Green (concussion) and Spencer Johnson (hamstring) were all struggling with their respective issues giving major headache to coach McDonald.

It looks probable that Head won't feature in the final game of the series alongside the opening phase of the World Cup while also missing the India series. This gives a clear chance to Marnus Labuschagne, who came in as a concussion substitute and grabbed his opportunity by smashing 80 and 124 in the first and second ODI of the series, respectively.

It would be interesting to see if he finds himself in the squad for the mega event for which his name wasn't included.