De Villiers availability for Australia series under a cloud – Cricket News Update
South Africa’s limited-overs skipper AB de Villiers is likely to miss the forthcoming tour of Australia due to back and ankle injuries, picked up during the ICC World T20 campaign, in Sri Lanka.
The 28-year-old wicketkeeper batsman had a lower chronic back problem before going into the World T20, and his role with gloves behind the stumps in all the three formats of the game, after Mark Boucher’s career ending eye injury, only aggravated the niggle.
The hard-hitting batsman has already been withdrawn from the just to begin Champions League T20, taking place in South Africa, where he was due to play for Titans. It is being feared that if de Villiers does not get enough rest and treatment, he could be forced to stay at home while the rest of the Proteas squad go Down Under, next month.
South Africa’s team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee confirmed on Thursday that de Villiers back and ankle injuries are in worse shape and if not handled properly, the gloveman could miss the crucial trip to Australia, in November.
“If we don't manage it properly, he could be out. His back and his ankle are worse than they were previously,” Moosajee told media reporters on Thursday, after the Proteas were knocked out of the ongoing World T20, at the end of the Super Eight stage.
“If it wasn't a World Cup and he wasn't captain of the team, we would probably have made a decision to send him home earlier,” the team manager opined.
South Africa once again faltered miserably in the crunch games in the ongoing World T20, as they failed to win even a single Super Eight match, despite having finished the league stage unbeaten.
Moosajee also confirmed that injuries were not picked during the World Cup campaign, rather the wicketkeeper batsman had landed in Sri Lanka with sore back and ankle, and playing consistently with the issues just aggravated the niggles.
“The more you play, the higher the chances are of it flaring up and then you've got to manage it,” said the South African team manager. “That's where the physio comes in with the treatment and this time treatment hasn't allowed it to heal substantially.”
Moosajee was however uncertain about the estimated recovery period. De Villiers’ current injury generally takes three to four weeks to recover completely; however, the exact amount of time will be known only after the Pretoria wicketkeeper batsman has seen the specialist.
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