Napier, Jan 28 (IANS) New Zealand pacer Mitchell McClenaghan was on Thursday ruled out of the forthcoming One-Day International (ODI) series against Australia, following the diagnosis of the fracture above his left eye which is more serious than initially thought.
“It’s certainly going to take at least a couple of weeks for him to recover,” coach Mike Hesson was quoted as saying by espncricinfo.
“It appears that the fracture is a little worse than first thought. Hopefully he will be available for selection for the World T20. He has done really well for us in the T20s.”
McClenaghan was hit during the New Zealand’s innings on Monday. He was batting on 31 when the penultimate delivery from Pakistan’s Anwar Ali managed to squeeze in between the visor of his helmet and its grills to strike him on the left eye.
Blood oozed out from the eyebrow, but he managed to walk off the field.
New Zealand play three ODIs against Australia between February 3 and February 8. A two-Test series follows, but McClenaghan has not recently been a part of the Test squad.