Brisbane, Jan 23 Australia spinner Matthew Kuhnemann has recovered from his right thumb injury after undergoing surgery and is now feeling no pain in bowling and batting, boosting his hopes to fly to Sri Lanka for the upcoming two-Test series.
The left-arm orthodox spinner suffered a compound dislocation and fracture on the thumb during Brisbane Heat's five-wicket loss to Hobart Hurricanes last Thursday. The injury put his participation in the Sri Lanka tour in uncertainty despite being a key part of Australia's plans.
Kuhnemann, 28, was rushed to the hospital by his Heat teammate Daniel Drew after suffering a dislocated thumb. The injury was treated that night, with the dislocation put back, followed by surgery the next morning to insert a pin into the fracture.
Despite the setback, Kuhnemann has made a swift recovery. After bowling eight overs at Allan Border Field in Brisbane on Thursday, he expressed optimism about joining Australia's squad in Sri Lanka. He also batted during the session, facing throwdowns from Heat and Queensland bowling coach Andy Bichel, took catches, and trained under the supervision of team physio Adam Smith.
Kuhnemann stated he feels good but will need clearance from Australia's medical staff, who are in Dubai for a pre-tour training camp. A conference call on Thursday evening will determine whether he can fly to Sri Lanka in the coming days.
"Nothing's official yet. I think it was more about just ticking off the boxes each day this week, and so far it's gone to plan. I'm hoping so, but nothing's come out yet. I'll probably speak to the medical team this afternoon. My bowling, batting and fielding has gone excellent so far. So I'll just relay that message. There's a bit of a time zone difference and hopefully, I can get on the plane over there," Kuhnemann said.
"I'm feeling really good, really grateful with how it sort of progressed in the last week. It's healed really well, and the surgery went excellent. Very fortunate and lucky so far that I'm sort of in a position to be able to bowl and bat and catch a few balls. Everything's gone to plan so far. There's not much pain at all any more, and no pain bowling and batting."
To protect his injured right thumb, Kuhnemann now wears a custom plastic splint, which he can use during games since it’s on his non-bowling hand. Having previously broken the same thumb, he remains confident that the splint will shield him from further damage, even if a ball is hit back at him with force.
"This is a conversation I had with the surgeons and doctors and it's really stable now. It's probably more stable than it was beforehand. I've broken that thumb before and now I've got surgery on it, it's probably in a better state," Kuhnemann said.
"I've played cricket with splints on and I'm very confident, it doesn't affect my bowling or batting and fielding. If anything, I'm probably more confident in the field, because you've got something on your finger."
He said he would have no fear if a ball came at him in the field. "No, not at all," Kuhnemann said. "That's cricket in general. Balls have been hit back at me a lot harder, and I've been fine. So this is one of those freak incidents that it's hit probably the exact spot it had to for it to cause some damage. I've already caught some balls. Andy Bichel's already thrown some balls back at me straight away, so there's no problem with that."
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