Victorian coach Chris Rogers has admitted exciting batter Will Pucovski is unlikely to play any part in this summer’s Ashes series, after his return from concussion was delayed.
The 23-year-old wasn’t considered for selection for Victoria’s Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales, beginning in Sydney on Friday.
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Pucovski is still feeling the effects of a concussion he suffered in October – the 10th significant head knock of his career.
Rogers says the right-hander is unlikely to return to domestic cricket until February.
“That’s up to him, he won’t play Big Bash I imagine,” he said.
“He’ll probably see how he can get himself right, play some club cricket, whether that’s before Christmas or after, and then we’ll have a big block of domestic cricket post the BBL.
“We have five Sheffield Shield games and three one-day domestic games, so hopefully he can be a part of all of those.”
Without any cricket for Victoria under his belt, Rogers concedes there’s little chance Pucovski can play any part in the Ashes series, which finishes in Perth in mid-January.
“I can’t see how he can now get the opportunity to show that he’s ready to go and play in the Test matches,” he said.
“If he was to be playing club cricket and be picked out of club cricket I’d probably be pretty surprised.
“Even Will understands that as well. I don’t have a crystal ball, but it’s probably going to be challenging for him to play Test cricket this summer.”
Rogers says there’s no need to rush Pucovski back into the Victorian side, noting that shoulder surgery also restricted his pre-season preparations.
“I was there when he was struck, it wasn’t one where we thought, ‘this is going to be terrible’ but equally he’s just had symptoms that have lasted a long time,” he explained.
“I’ve been speaking to our medical team and it actually takes quite a long time for him to recover from a few of these blows.
“If anything the time to recover has been getting shorter and shorter, so this one has probably lasted a bit longer, but we’re trusting our medical team and Will to make the right decision.”
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