Australia plan to bowl paceman Mitchell Starc until he breaks down with a chronic ankle injury that will require surgery and a four-month spell from cricket, selector Rod Marsh said on Monday.
“My understanding of Starc is that he can maintain going until it truly will get a hell of lots worse, after which he may have to have an operation”, selectors chairman Marsh advised reporters in Adelaide.
Mitchell Starc will play through the pain barrier as he continues to nurse an ankle injury, with a busy period ahead for Australia.
That has affected plans to send the world’s number one ODI bowler home early, but Starc may not feature in Thursday’s fourth match at his former home ground of Headingley Carnegie.
“It is going to have to be removed but it will take another three or four months after the operation for him to be able to play again”, Marsh said.
“During the recent Ashes Test and ODI series in the United Kingdom, there have been times when Mitchell has struggled and required cortisone injections to treat the inflammation within the joint”, Kountouris said.
The bone spur moves around in Starc’s ankle and occasionally causes chronic pain.
“He’s only a young kid still so for us still trying to get some games into him and keep him improving”.
After winning the ODI series against England 3-2, Australia’s attention has turned to a two-Test engagement with Bangladesh, with the first match taking place in Chittagong on October 9.
“How long that [cortisone] will last and what will happen, it’s in the lap of the gods”.
Australia have seen Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin and Ryan Harris retire from all cricket, Shane Watson from Tests and had Watson, Nathan Coulter-Nile and David Warner return home injured.
Another Aussie, Glenn Maxwell shined in all facets of the game and that saw him enter the top five of the allrounder’s category led by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, but he also climbed 22 spots in the bowlers table to 49 and held steady as the No.9 ranked ODI batsman in the world. “Especially after what he’s gone through in the last few years where he hasn’t played enough cricket (due to injury)”.