Image Credit- Twitter (X)
Riley Meredith
delivered a terrible knock on Will Pucovski’s helmet during Victoria’s
Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania in Hobart, forcing him to retire
injured.
The second delivery Pucovski faced was a short ball, and he was struck by it
and fell to his knees in the crease. The Victoria physiotherapist and Cricket
Australia doctor arrived on the scene swiftly, but Pucovski needed some time to
gather himself before he could leave the pitch unassisted for additional
evaluation.
Campbell Kellaway was added to the starting lineup as a concussion replacement.
Victoria is chasing 442, and the match is in its fourth innings.
“Pucovski, who
walked from the field, is being monitored by medical staff,” a Cricket
Victoria statement said. “More information will be provided at a later
stage.”
Throughout his
career, Pucovski has sustained numerous concussions. Last month, he made a
century at the SCG against New South Wales following another period of absence
from the game.
In addition, he took a break from the game to attend to his mental health, and
he mentioned earlier this year that he had discovered a connection between that
and his concussions.
“The mental
health has been a much bigger issue for me than even the concussions,” he
told the Vic State Cricket podcast. “I don’t fear for my long-term health,
it’s more the mental health side that’s been the tougher part.”
“One day I’ll be ready to tell my whole story and it will probably make a
lot more sense,” he added. “I’ve explained what I’ve been through to
my inner circle of people and actually all the responses I’ve got have been
like ‘Jesus, I would never have guessed that in a million years, that doesn’t
even make sense to me’.
“It hasn’t made sense to me for years, either, but I’ve been on this
pathway to understand it all.”