Marsh, Faulkner miss South Africa tour; Starc hospitalized

Starc dived for a ball and landed awkwardly, his knee going into a piece of training equipment, and after being helped off the ground by medical staff, Starc was driven to the hospital for treatment. The first Test, against South Africa at the WACA, is still seven weeks away.

Starc and other Australian cricketers are in Sydney for a series of fitness tests and pre-season briefings.

“Mitchell was taken to St George hospital in an ambulance this afternoon [Thursday] suffering a deep laceration to his left shin after colliding with some training equipment”, said Cricket Australia’s chief medical officer, John Orchard.

The 26-year-old underwent an operation on a wound that required 30 stitches and is expected to be out of action for just under a month.

The New South Wales pacer was earlier said to be in huge pain after colliding with the equipment and was taken for scans accompanied by theteam doctor, John Orchard.

Australia have now also revealed that James Faulkner and Shaun Marsh have been ruled out of the tour due to injury.

Marsh was replaced by Usman Khawaja for the tour that includes five one-day internationals against the Proteas and one against Ireland, though Faulkner would not be replaced.

Marsh’s injury came on their tour of Sri Lanka as he suffered a broken finger. While the pacer was already rested for the ODI series in South Africa, the million dollar question remains – will he be fit to represent his national team in the Test arena in November?

Orchard added that Starc will use an extension brace for the next 2-3 weeks until his stitches are removed, Sport24 reported.

Australia would be hoping for Starc, their premier paceman, to recover quickly for what is a long and hectic summer.