Pakistan vs Australia: Usman Khawaja rekindles an old injury

The test does not seem to ease out for the visiting Australian side in the UAE. Team Australia, sans the services of Steve Smith and David Warner, is already a weakened unit with the bat. It was evident when they crumbled down for 145 in the first innings of the ongoing Test match against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi. Now, they have a target in excess of 500 to overhaul and are staring at a potential defeat.

Amidst this backdrop, things have only worsened for the visitors as one of their star batsmen has injured himself. Left-handed batter Usman Khawaja has reportedly hurt his knee. This was the reason for absence from the action on day 3 of the Test. As per the reports in ESPNcricinfo, Khawaja ended up hurting his knee that he had got operated in 2014 after an anterior cruciate ligament tear.

This can be a worrying concern for the Australian side. There was no official word from the team on the severity of the injury. However, speedster Peter Siddle did shed some light on the topic. He noted that the players did not see this coming and that he will undergo scans later in the day which will be investigated to understand the extent of his injury.

“Nah we didn’t see it, some of the guys might’ve but I didn’t, he hasn’t really said too much. Disappointing for him but he’s getting a scan later tonight and they’ll send it to the people who need to have a look at it in the next day or so and we’ll find out more. At this stage that’s all we know. Just fingers crossed for him, hopefully it comes back positive for him and he can get back out there,” Siddle remarked.

“It was just something in warm-up, we were throwing the ball. So that’s about all I know, I don’t know what specifically happened, but something so small it’s kept him out. So disappointing for him but fingers crossed he gets some good news tonight. Initially [he was] very flat, as anyone would know, knowing that he can’t get out there with the boys and help out,” he added.

A ray of hope

Siddle further remarked that Khawaja did not look too uncomfortable through the course of the day. He kept moving around and that is a ray of hope that the Australian side is currently banking on. The pacer noted that a call would be made before the start of the play on the penultimate day.

“But I think throughout the day he was up and about, moving around, helping us when we came in and trying to help us in the rooms. He’s a positive guy, so fingers crossed for him and we get some good news tonight or tomorrow. Tonight once he’s got the scan and we know more that’ll determine from the doctor’s point of view what he can and can’t do. That’s the big thing at the end of the day and just looking after his welfare. We’ll see how that comes up tomorrow and we’ll go from there,” the pacer further added.

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