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Aussie paceman Peter Siddle has succumbed to a recurring back injury after the defeat to South Africa in Perth and will miss the second Test in Hobart.
Lower back soreness has hampered the Victorian, having just returned from a lengthy eight-month break to recover from back and ankle injuries.
The series opener against the Proteas was just his second game back from the layoff, following the first round of Sheffield Shield fixtures.
After a massive second innings from South Africa, the Australian pace attack was put through the ringer physically and mentally.
The Australian team physio David Beakley said Siddle pulled up with some regulation soreness after a long second innings with the ball but wasn’t expecting the paceman to miss any action.
“Whilst we expect bowlers to be sore after Test matches, this was slightly worse than we expected and given that he was returning from a significant back injury, we organised some scans today,” said Beakley.
“The scans demonstrated some low-grade bone oedema around his old stress fracture that is likely to be a flare up of his previous lower back injury.”
“We are hopeful that this will resolve relatively quickly, but have withdrawn him from the squad for the second Test.”
Siddle admitted after day four that it had become a real slog to start the summer.
“Bowling every day of a Test match is hard work,” he said. “As a fast bowler, you always want to have a day or a bit more just to rest up and recuperate and get back onto it.”
The unfortunate injury to the 31-year-old has opened the door for a Test debut.
Joe Mennie tackled the South Africans in the recent ODI series but was spanked all around the park in his first game.
He was duly left out of the Test XI to start the series, but now has a huge opportunity to snatch the Baggy Green in Hobart as the team struggles with a few injuries leading into the second Test.
Siddle has played 62 Tests for Australia but has found himself in and out of the lineup in recent years as a new generation of quicks come through.
Despite this, He’s still expected to play a part in the summer of cricket.
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