A week before The Ashes, Australia sustained multiple injury concerns in the form of superstar pacer Josh Hazlewood and reserve pacer Sean Abbott. Both of the seamers were sent for scans on day three of the Sheffield Shield clash between New South Wales and Victoria at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Because of the niggle, none of them returned to the field for the remainder of the day.

Speaking about the double injury concerns, Australia captain Pat Cummins provides updates. Because of a back issue, Cummins, who was already ruled out of the first Test against England, was informed that the niggle of Hazlewood was probably not too serious, and he is hopeful to see him in the highly anticipated Test series. Though, he was not so optimistic about the availability of Sean Abbott.

"Joshy (Josh Hazlewood) was pretty confident when he walked out, so hopefully it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. It’s rare to get him chipper, so it was good to see him smiling. He knows his body really well. I think he was a little bit worried and wanted to get it checked out. I only saw him briefly, but he was a bit happier afterwards," Cummins said about Josh Hazlewood. Later,

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RCB skipper Rajat Patidar also got injured ahead of IPL 2026

Cricket Australia, in a statement, informed that the ace pacer is all clear to join the national camp for the Ashes. "(Hazlewood) underwent precautionary scans, which have cleared him of muscle strain. He will train as planned in the lead-up to the first Test in Perth," Cricket Australia said in its statement. 

The niggle of Josh Hazlewood not only worried the Australian cricket fans but also the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fans, as their IPL 2025 winning captain, Rajat Patidar, is already out with a muscle injury and is expected to remain out of action for about four months. As of now, it is unclear when Patidar could make a comeback into competitive cricket. If the nature of the injury he sustained proves more serious, then the RCB skipper can miss the initial few matches of IPL 2026.