Khawaja is expected to return during the Boxing Day Test against the West Indies
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Australia batsman Usman Khawaja will miss the rest of the ongoing series against New Zealand and could also miss the first Test of the upcoming series against the West Indies after suffering a hamstring injury.
Khawaja injured his hamstring when chasing a ball on the second day of the second Test against New Zealand in Perth and will therefore be unavailable for the third Test in Adelaide, which will be the first day-night Test in history.
Khawaja admitted that he was gutted to have succumbed to the injury, especially after having scored two centuries against the Blackcaps
“It probably makes it worse in a way, because I feel so good. I think that’s why I was so disappointed yesterday,” he said. “Coming into the match it felt tight. I knew it was touch and go. I felt like it could’ve gone in this match, but at the same time I’ve had my hammy feel like that and I’ve got through before.
“I just really wanted to get through this game because I knew we had a 10-day break after it. To score two hundreds, you always feel good, so it was really disappointing when it happened because I guess I’d just started enjoying Test cricket. Hopefully I can be right and come back soon.”
While Khawaja is eager to return as soon as possible, he insisted that he will ensure he is fully fit before he does so as he does not want to aggravate the injury.
“I think the physio and the doctors are pretty adamant that if I take my time and do my rehab quite well and nip it in the bud I can always try and come back pretty early,” he said. “But there’s a chance if I do that it might happen again.
“I’ve got to do everything possible that, hopefully, when I do come back playing again that I’m 100% and feeling really good, that I’ve got enough rehab plus enough workload in my legs to be able to handle Test cricket, to be able to handle back-to-back games. My workload over the past three weeks has been pretty huge, probably the biggest it has been since I’ve been back [from knee surgery]. It’s been tough…and a bad result in the end.”
The 28-year-old is expected to make his comeback during the Boxing Day Test against the West Indies, but there is a slim chance he could feature in the first Test in Hobart.
“I got a scan this morning and it was pretty good, good news. I woke up and the hamstring feels pretty good, better than what I expected to be honest,” he said. “I might even have a really tiny little trot tomorrow if I can.
“When I found out the news I think most of the support staff and everything else were saying Boxing Day, if everything goes to plan, I’ll be flying by then. I’d like to play the first Test against the West Inides…but at the same time I’ve got to assess how well my hamstring pulls up, how I’m recovering, how things are going.
“I need to nip it in the bud and make sure that I’m not trying to come back too early and it happens again, because that’s good for no-one.”