Black Caps fast bowler Lockie Ferguson has suffered a partial stress fracture in his back, but the length of his time on the sidelines remains unclear.
The 29-year-old, who battled similar injuries earlier in his career, suffered the partial stress fracture of his lumbar spine.
“What that essentially means is there is a crack there, but I guess in terms of seriousness and how it looks, it could be a lot worse than that,” Black Caps coach Gary Stead said.
“It is only partial, which is a good sign.
“It is too early to know just yet, I guess, how long it will be in terms of a return to play.”
Stead said he remained hopeful Ferguson may be back by the end of the season.
“Lockie is a huge loss for us. I mean, you guys have seen lately the impact that he has had in all matches that he’s played for New Zealand,” Stead said.
“His speed, his accuracy, is something that really adds to our bowling group and so for us, we’re really sad that this has happened to him, really feeling for him at the moment because it is never easy to go through something like this.”
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