Queensland’s young fast bowler Callum Vidler has suffered a major injury setback as he has been ruled out of Australia A’s white-ball tour of India after scans confirmed a partial stress fracture on his back. The 19-year-old had reported pain during the T20 Max competition, which led to the further checkups before he was ruled out of the India tour.
Queensland’s High Performance General Manager, Joe Dawes said the issue was identified quickly after Vidler reported pain. “Callum experienced some back pain during training and promptly reported it,” Dawes told ESPNcricinfo. The scans later revealed a fracture in his L3 vertebrae, which forced him into recovery and rehab.
The injury is another setback for Australia’s pace attack, which is already hit by several injury problems. Test captain Pat Cummins is dealing with a back injury, while fast bowler Lance Morris will miss a year after back surgery. Brody Couch, who has replaced Morris for the red-ball games in India, has suffered a side injury as well.
Dawes said Vidler was upset after being ruled out of the India tour. “Unfortunately, the scans came back confirming a stress fracture so he will spend some time recovering and then start a rehab plan. He’s naturally very disappointed but accepts that injuries are part of the game. We’ll work closely with him to ensure he has the best recovery to get him ready for a return to cricket,” he said.
Vidler was one of the players to watch out for, for Australia A, after taking five wickets in the Sheffield Shield final. His absence leaves Queensland low on fast bowlers with the Dean Jones Trophy coming up soon.
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