BENGALURU (Reuters) – Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell will be unable to participate in their World Cup match against England due to a concussion suffered from falling off a golf cart earlier this week. However, head coach Andrew McDonald expressed optimism on Wednesday, stating that he expects Maxwell to fully recover.
Maxwell fell off the back of a buggy while riding it after playing a round of golf in preparation for their upcoming contest against the defending champions in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
Cricket Australia’s concussion protocols mandate that Maxwell’s condition be monitored over the next few days.
“He’s doing fine, he’ll start some light exercises today and we feel as though it will be a reasonably straightforward return to play protocol,” McDonald informed reporters.
“I suppose the fortunate part was there was no other injury sustained which could have been a lot worse than it is. I think it rattled everyone to be fair once it came to the conclusion there was a concussion and he was going to miss a game.
“There was nothing untoward in the behaviour throughout the day, it was a clear-cut accident. Unfortunately it’s compromised what we are doing as a team.”
Maxwell previously suffered a broken leg in a freak accident at a birthday party in Melbourne last November, and he also missed Australia’s recent tour of South Africa due to an ankle issue.
Despite the setback, Maxwell had been in superb form in the tournament, highlighted by his 40-ball hundred against the Netherlands.
“There’s no doubt it leaves us a fraction exposed at the back end in terms of how Glenn’s been performing,” McDonald added. “But Marcus Stoinis does become available, all things going well at training today.”
Following the match against England, Australia will face Afghanistan and Bangladesh in subsequent matches.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Alison Williams)
