Hours before facing Hobart Hurricanes in the Champions League T20, Kings XI Punjab has lost their bowling spearhead Mitchell Johnson because of a rib injury.
Johnson sustained the injury during Zimbabwe tri-series and because of that he has not got clearance from the Cricket Australia (CA) for competing in the CLT20.
Cricket Australia physiotherapist Alex Kountouris informed that the paceman is not immediately available to play for KXIP and his condition will be reviewed in the coming week.
“Mitch had some rib pain during the recent ODI tour of Zimbabwe,” Kountouris informed. “Since returning to Australia, he has had some scans that have confirmed some irritation of the tip of the rib.”
“As such he has had a break from bowling since returning to Australia and having regular treatment to resolve the problem,” he added. “He has not fully recovered as yet and will be reviewed over the next week.”
CA’s Executive General Manager Team Performance Pat Howard also said that Johnson, who 17 wickets in 14 matches for KXIP, is unavailable and is not released for the T20 competition.
“Due to medical advice Mitch has not been released to play in the CLT20 tournament at this time,” Howard said. “A decision on his release to play for the Kings XI will depend on how he responds to treatment.”
