Steven Smith is set to join the training camp in Dubai, however, will meet specialist amid the Sri Lanka tour disruption.
Reserve Test captain Steven Smith has been given clearance to head to Australia’s training camp in Dubai with his teammates ahead of the series against Sri Lanka starting on Jan 29. Smith is allowed for the camp after seeing a specialist about his elbow problem during the Big Bash League.
Smith, who has a history of elbow issues, injured his right arm—previously operated on in 2019. Smith got injured while fielding for the Sydney Sixers during their rain-ruined match against the Sydney Thunder on Friday.
This unprecedented mishap delayed Smith’s departure to Dubai. He remained in Sydney for further treatment, follow-up scans, and specialist observation, but he received a green light on Monday. The 35-year-old arrived on Tuesday and plans to resume batting in the next couple of days.
According to a statement from Cricket Australia, “Smith is expected to return to batting later in the week to begin his preparation for the first Test against Sri Lanka,”
Smith recounted the incident, stating that he had caught a ball from David Warner, flicked it back inside the boundary, and was about to throw it when he suddenly felt a sharp pain.
“Straight away I thought ‘oh jeez, that hurt’,” Smith said. “That was a similar sort of feeling to when I ruptured my ligament back in 2019, so I was a little bit worried for a little bit. But scans showed fortunately my ligament is still intact, the one that I got repaired. I’ve got a little bit of muscle damage, and it’s a small millimeter of the ligament on the bone that’s doing something.
Even though he has been cleared of major elbow problems, Smith may be limited in throwing on the field. However, as he will largely be a close catcher, where spin is expected to dominate, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Smith, who has already been dismissed twice from touching the distance of 10,000 Test runs landmarks during the final Test of the BGT 2024-25 in Sydney against India will start the Sri Lanka series on 9999 Test runs.
The complete Aussie squad has now reached Dubai, except for left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann, who underwent surgery on a compound fracture-dislocation in his right thumb that he suffered in the BBL last week. Any update regarding his availability will come in a couple of days.
