Back injury puts Pat Cummins on the sidelines

A bone oedema in his vertebrae has ruled Pat Cummins out of action for the immediate future, preventing him from being a part of Mumbai Indians’ campaign in the 2018 Indian Premier League.

“Pat experienced some back soreness during the fourth Test in South Africa. Follow-up scans have confirmed that he has bone oedema in his vertebrae,” said David Beakley, the physiotherapist of the Australia senior team, on Tuesday 10 April.

“It is important that Pat has time off bowling, to prevent the injury becoming more serious and consequently we have made the decision to rule Pat out of the IPL.”

Cummins, 24, played 13 Tests in a row since being included in the side for the Test tour of India in February-March 2017.

He made his Test debut in November 2011 in Johannesburg against South Africa, picking up seven wickets in the match, but had to stay away from top-flight cricket for the next many years because of a back problem.

Since coming back, though, he has been an integral part of the Australian team. Most recently, in the four Tests in South Africa, Cummins was the best Australian bowler, finishing with 22 wickets, just one behind Kagiso Rabada’s chart-topping 23.

Now, though, Cummins’ back will be monitored for some time, but Beakley held out hope that the paceman will be fit in time for the limited-overs tour of England in June this year.

“Pat will now undergo a period of recovery and rehabilitation and we will look to re-scan him in a few weeks to assess the healing,” said Beakley. “Following this we will be in a better position to decide on Pat’s return to play timeline including participation in the limited overs tour of the UK.”