Jhye Richardson's hopes of playing in the upcoming 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup has received a major boost on Thursday, 28 March, as the scans on his injured shoulder have confirmed that there is no bone damage or fracture to the young Australia fast bowler's bowling shoulder.
The 22-year-old was forced to leave the field during Sunday's second one-day international against Pakistan after having dislocated his bowling shoulder while trying to save a boundary in Sharjah.
Later, Richardson was immediately ruled out of the ongoing five-match ODI series and flown from the UAE to Perth for further assessment, which put his 2019 World Cup chances in jeopardy, as the pacer had been considered a certainty for Australia's squad for the showpiece event.
However, it was really great news for the young paceman, as the Australia team physio, Richard Saw, has confirmed in a statement that his injury isn’t as bad as it could have been, but Jhye will have to see a shoulder specialist to decide whether the injury will need surgery.
Saw stated on Thursday, “Jhye Richardson has had scans on his right shoulder to assess the extent of his injury. The scans demonstrated the usual soft tissue damage we expect following a dislocation but fortunately has excluded any bone damage or fracture.”
He continued, “We are hopeful that Jhye will not require surgery but he will see a shoulder specialist early next week for a further opinion. We will be able to provide an update with respect to next steps once we have all the information on the table.”
Meanwhile, the youngster was disappointed with the shoulder injury but has not ruled himself out of the World Cup 2019 race, saying he is eager to come back on the field.
Richardson told cricket.com.au, “Everyone in the Australian camp is hopeful, I'm hopeful and in high spirits. I'm not ruling out the World Cup at this stage, that's definitely not an option. It's all about getting the shoulder right at this stage. The shoulder injury is unfortunate, but these things do happen and I'm eager to bounce back quickly.”
(With cricket.com.au/ICC Inputs)
