Pucovski didn't suffer major concussion; should be fine for Ashes: Victoria GM

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Sydney, Oct 16 (IANS) Cricket Victoria general manager Shaun Graf said on Saturday that Australian opener Will Pucovski didn't suffer a major concussion and the youngster should be fit for the Ashes series beginning December 8 in Brisbane.

Pucovski had suffered a concussion while training with his state side Victoria on October 5 when the 23-year-old was struck on his head while facing throwdowns during a practice session. Soon, he began showing signs of concussion.

Pucovski made his Test debut this year in the Sydney Test against India in January, scoring 62 and 10 before a shoulder injury while fielding ruled him out of Brisbane Test and subsequent cricketing action as a reconstruction surgery was needed. In 24 first-class matches, Pucovski has an average of over 53.41 with six centuries and as many half-centuries.

Pucovski has suffered 10 concussions throughout his short career, which have led to concerns over his health in the long-term. Before the incident in training, he was struck on the head by pacer Kartik Tyagi while batting for Australia A in the practice match against India A in December last year and was ruled out for the remainder of the match at the Drummoyne Oval in Sydney.

"It wasn't a major concussion of any sort but he did get a hit, so the protocols were put in place and they do show that he has a slight concussion," said Graf. "He was in here today, he's fine," the Cricket Victoria official told SEN's Dwayne's World.

"He feels good in himself, he had some headaches but that seems to have dissipated by now. We're very hopeful by next week or so that he'll be back at training and away we go. It's definitely not a major setback," Graf said.

"Obviously he's such a talent, Australian cricket and everyone around, including the Victorian medical staff and Australian staff have got to understand that when he does cop a knock, he had a different reaction to a lot of other people because of the amount of concussions he's had. So, we're taking a more conservative approach to make sure everything is alright, the last thing we want to expose him as we lead into the season."

"Purely and simply, he was in the indoor nets and one of the coaches was basically throwing balls, it was a short ball and it basically collected him on the side of the head in a hook shot," he said.

"I think he'll be fine, we're very hopeful that he'll still be available for Victoria's first game, which could be before the end of the month. It's a wait and see, obviously we're guided by medical opinion, but certainly from our discussions and the way our medical staff feel is that he should be hopefully available. And if he is available, he can hopefully put a big score on the board and force his way into the side," added Graf.

--IANS

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