Australia pacer James Pattinson, on Wednesday, was ruled out of the upcoming Ashes series at home after aggravating a stress fracture he was struggling with earlier in the year. The 27-year-old will take an indefinite break from the game after suffering a fresh fitness blow, reported cricket.com.au
Pattinson, who has been plagued by several injury problems in recent years, said that he was disappointed to miss out playing Down Under against old rivals England, “Obviously I am extremely disappointed with this setback after just getting back into a good run of playing cricket,” Pattinson said. “I’m especially disappointed to miss out on the possibility to play in a home Ashes series. Over the next few weeks I will discuss all available options available to me with medical staff, to work out the best plan to prevent this from happening again.”
Pattinson also did not feature in Australia’s two-match Test series in Bangladesh. However, the 27-year-old was in fine form against Nottinghamshire in county cricket, scalping 32 wickets in just five matches. He also played for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield, “Soon after returning from the UK, following the Champions Trophy and his county cricket contract, James presented with back pain,” said Australia’s Sports Science and Sports Medicine Manager Alex Kountouris.
“We made the decision to withdraw him from the Tour of Bangladesh and monitor his pain. He returned to bowling after a period of rest and unfortunately he is still experiencing pain with bowling. During this time we have been monitoring him, including regular scans, and recent imaging has confirmed that James has begun to re-aggravate his previous lower back stress fracture.” The Ashes begins on November 23 at Brisbane.