Cameron Green will miss the Sydney Test against South Africa after suffering a broken finger.
The 23-year-old was struck on the glove while batting on Tuesday afternoon and was forced to retire hurt, with the all-rounder in visible pain and blood pouring from the top of his finger.
Green was sent for scans immediately, which revealed a small fracture in his right index finger and will miss the rest of the Aussie summer, including the Big Bash.
He will be able to bat again at the MCG if required, but will not bowl and will miss the final match of the series against the Proteas, with the hopes of being able to return for the India tour.
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Cameron Green out of the Sydney Test. He has a small fracture to his right index finger after being hit late yesterday. Will bat again this match but not bowl. Focus after this game is on recovery for India Test tour. #AUSvSA
— Andrew Wu (@wutube) December 27, 2022
JUST IN: Cameron Green has suffered a small fracture to his right index finger, and has been ruled out of next week’s SCG Test against South Africa.
— Nic Savage (@nic_savage1) December 27, 2022
He can bat again in the MCG Test if required, but will not bowl.#AUSvSA
Cameron Green has a fracture in his finger. He’ll bat if required, but will miss the Sydney test and sadly it looks like he’ll miss the rest of the Big Bash as well @FOXSportsNews @FoxCricket
— Drew Jones (@DrewJonesFOX) December 27, 2022
Green isn't the only injury concern for Australia heading into the SCG, with left-arm quick Mitchell Starc likely to be ruled out with tendon damage in his finger.
Josh Hazlewood could be in line for a return to replace Starc, but there is no clear front-runner to replace Green in the side as an all-rounder.
Mitchell Swepson and Ashton Agar are both potential options as second spinners, which could be an audition for the upcoming Test tour of India.
Green's injury comes just a day after taking a five-wicket haul and less than a week removed from earning a $3 million payday with the IPL - reminding the rising star of the ups and downs of cricket, which me prophetically mentioned the night prior to his injury.
“That’s probably cricket summed up – you can have a really slow start to the summer, but then you have a few days like this and it kind of brings you back," he said.
"At the same time, when you go through a high, cricket can bring you back down."
Australia will resume on day two of the MCG Test at 3/386 as they look to wrap up the series.