Injured Hauritz's World Cup spot in doubt

Updated on: 23 January,2011 07:14 AM IST |
AFP |

Spinner Nathan Hauritz faces surgery on his injured right shoulder as Australia's World Cup injury crisis mounts.

Spinner Nathan Hauritz faces surgery on his injured right shoulder as Australia's World Cup injury crisis mounts.

Nathan Hauritz (right) leaves the field with physio Alex Kountouris after hurting his shoulder on Friday. PIC/GETTY IMAGES

The third game of the series will be played in Sydney today.

Overlooked for the entire Ashes series, Hauritz was playing his first international for the southern summer on Friday, having been named in the 15-man World Cup squad on Tuesday.

If Hauritz does need surgery, he will become the second member of that squad to go under the knife in less than a week, after Hussey had surgery to repair a severe hamstring tear.

Australian physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said on Saturday a decision on the best way to treat Hauritz had not been finalised and confirmed he was in doubt for the World Cup.

"Nathan had scans this afternoon following his shoulder dislocation yesterday," he said. "These scans are used to assess the amount of structural damage caused by the dislocation and will help guide the treatment of this injury.

"They have demonstrated moderate disruption of the supportive structures at the shoulder. We will now seek a specialist opinion to determine the next course of action," he said.

"It is likely he will be unavailable for the remainder of the Commonwealth Bank Series and his availability for the ICC Cricket World Cup will be determined in the coming weeks."

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