Australia batsman Steve Smith suffers cervical facet joint injury, sidelined till Dec

Cape Town: Australian batsman Steve Smith has sustained a cervical facet joint injury in his neck and will not be considered for selection until the home Test series against New Zealand in December.

Following Smith's exclusion from the series decider against South Africa in Cape Town, Cricket Australia confirmed the severity of the injury and established a timeline for his return to competitive cricket.

Smith injured his neck during the second Test against South Africa and was a late withdrawal from the series finale in Cape Town, which began on Tuesday. Subsequent medical imaging confirmed the presence of a cervical facet joint injury, ruling the right-hander out of action until Australia's next Test commitment against New Zealand.

"Steve Smith developed neck pain on day four of the second Test in Gqeberha last week," Cricket Australia confirmed via an official statement quoted by the ICC.

"Subsequent MRI imaging confirmed a cervical facet joint injury. Due to this and his limited range of motion, he was unfit to participate in the current Test."

"Steve will continue to receive treatment and rehabilitation, with a full return to availability anticipated for the upcoming home Test series against New Zealand," the statement added.

With Smith watching from the sidelines, recalled batsman Josh Inglis filled the void on Wednesday, posting an unbeaten 85 as Australia reached 330/4 at stumps, holding a one-run lead over the hosts in the first innings.

Matthew Renshaw (74), Cameron Green (65), and Alex Carey (51 not out) also registered half-centuries, though Marnus Labuschagne (0) suffered another failure in his ongoing Test slump.

Earlier, South Africa posted 329 all out after being sent in to bat by Australia, backed by contributions from Aiden Markram (78), Marques Ackermann (95), and Marco Jansen (52), before fast bowler Mitchell Starc (6/72) swept through the lower order.

Wednesday marked Inglis's first Test appearance since featuring against England in Adelaide during the Ashes late last year, with teammate Renshaw noting he was unsurprised by the immediate contribution.

"He is a very talented player; we have seen that across a lot of the white-ball formats," Renshaw observed.

"To come in today, we were under a little bit of pressure, having lost two quick wickets, and the way that he played was really positive – it was a very Josh innings, and I think it was really what we needed at that time," Renshaw added.

ANI