Australia have been rocked by the news James Faulkner will miss the Test tour of South Africa after being told he needs surgery to fix a knee injury.
Faulkner may not have played a part as Australia won the Ashes back from England this winter but he may have figured in South Africa as injuries start to bite into Michael Clarke’s squad.
The 23-year-old picked up the injury in the One-Day International victory over England on Sunday and will also miss the upcoming three-match Twenty20 series.
However, the Australian camp is not too concerned and hope Faulkner will make the back end of the South African tour along with the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.
“James injured his knee during the Australia Day one-day international in Adelaide,” Australia physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said.
“He has had subsequent scans and was reviewed by Cricket Australia’s medical team and a knee specialist, and will require arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday.
“He will not be available for the upcoming Test tour of South Africa. We are hopeful that he will recover in time to play the Twenty 20 games on that tour and take part in the ICC World Twenty20.”
Faulkner, who smashed a brilliant 69 to help Australia to a dramatic victory in the second One-Day International in Brisbane, will be a big loss to Australia.
Faulkner will be replaced in the T20 squad by Kane Richardson, while Moises Henriques will come in for the Tests against South Africa.
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