James Faulkner's injury to be assessed over next two weeks, likely to miss start of World Cup

James Faulkner

James Faulkner is likely to miss the start of the World Cup as he will be under “intensive treatment” after scans have shown that he has suffered a side strain. He came off injured while bowling his 3^rd over during Australia’s 112-run win over England in the final of the Carlton Mid tri-series on Sunday.

Typical fast bowler’s injury, says physio

Australian team physio Alex Kountouris confirmed the news, saying that Faulkner has an abdominal muscle strain and will be under supervision over the next two weeks.

"Scans on James Faulkner's injured side have confirmed a moderate grade abdominal muscle strain which is consistent with a 'typical' fast-bowing side strain injury. He will receive intensive treatment for the next two weeks before we can determine when he can return to batting and bowling,” Kountouris said.

The 24-year-old Tasmanian will remain with the Australian squad for the upcoming 2015 World Cup and will travel with the rest of the squad to Adelaide on Friday while continuing with his treatment. A final decision with regards to his participation in the whole event might not be taken until the medical staff of Cricket Australia (CA) assess his progress over the next 15 days.

Australia are already pondering over the fitness of their captain Michael Clarke, who has been given a deadline of February 21 to recover completely from his hamstring injury. He, however, did return to play a game for his club side Western Suburbs on Saturday and scored a half-century in the match.

Faulkner’s importance for Australia cannot be understated

Should Faulkner be ruled out of the quadrennial event, it would certainly come as a massive blow for the Australians. He was his side's leading wicket-taker in the 2014 with 19 wickets in 14 games and also showed he can be extremely effective with the bat, when he smashed an unbeaten 47-ball 69 against England at the Gabba to guide the Aussies to a thrilling one-wicket win over England.

Australia begin their World Cup campaign, with a match against arch-rivals England on February 14.