As the countdown to the much-awaited Champions Trophy draws to a close, Australia suffer a huge setback as their gun all-rounder Mitchell Marsh gets sidelined due to a lower back injury. Marsh will take no part in the upcoming marquee event which is expected to commence on February 19.
Following his ouster from the Australian squad during the Border Gavaskar Trophy, Marsh joined Perth Scorchers and was seen in action during the BBL-14 where his back injury aggravated a lot further. Although the NSW-born cricketer was under intense medical care, his injury did not seem to respond too well to the rehabilitation process.
Cricket Australia issues statement on Mitchell Marsh’s fitness
On Friday, Cricket Australia (CA) issued a statement confirming that Marsh would miss the upcoming ICC event due to ongoing issues persisting with his lower back. However, it is believed that CA has categorically denied it being a back stress fracture.
"Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of the upcoming ICC Men's Champion's Trophy with ongoing lower back pain and dysfunction."
The 33-year-old has been advised a prolonged resting period which also puts his IPL 2025 stint for LSG in jeopardy. The National Selection Panel stated that Marsh’s prior rehabilitation procedures returned unsuccessful. His failure to recover in a short space of time has compelled the NSP to come up with a more robust and long-term plan to tackle his back issues.
"The National Selection Panel and Australian men's medical team ruled Marsh out of the tournament with the injury which has not responded sufficiently to rehabilitation. His lower back pain flared in recent weeks leading the NSP to make the longer-term decision for Marsh to complete a more extended period of rehabilitation. Marsh will now undergo a period of further rest and rehabilitation as part of his return to play plan.”
CA is expected to announce his replacement in the coming days and is in the midst of finalizing the Australian squad for the mega white-ball event. The deadline for the final squad announcement for the ICC event is February 12.
Australia preliminary squad:
Pat Cummins (c), Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa (squad yet to be finalized)
