Australia quick Jhye Richardson undergoes shoulder surgery

Australia fast bowler Jhye Richardson has undergone a surgery to stabilise the shoulder he injured against Pakistan during an ODI series last March. Richardson, 23, dislocated his right shoulder during the second ODI while putting in a dive and was ruled out for six months, which led to him missing the World Cup and the 2019 Ashes.

After recovering, Richardson turned up for Australia just once, when he played an ODI against South Africa, and even though he looked comfortable bowling, the fast bowler did face issues in the outfield with his shoulder popping out on several occasions, preventing him from throwing the ball. The reason behind the surgery is for Richardson to get done with the issue once and for all.

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“All the ligaments become loose when you do dislocate and then the surgery essentially involves tightening things up,” CA’s head of sports science, Alex Kountouris, told News Corp.

“A lot of other players have had that in the past. We’re hoping that will fix the problem. It was nasty [the original injury]. He dived with a lot of force on his arm. It was something that was quite bad. It’s probably not surprising he’s had ongoing symptoms and not surprising in general for cricketers because they do need their shoulders to be fairly mobile.”

There is belief that Richardson should gain match fitness by the time international cricket resumes once the COVID-19 pandemic is under control. Richardson, who has featured in 34 internationals for Australia and claimed 39 wickets, is expected to be fit for the T20 World Cup in Australia, provided the tournament goes ahead as planned.

“It’s a lengthy surgery but it does give him an opportunity now that we’re not going to play until… September, October, November or December…he’s obviously a chance with that,” Kountouris added.