Tom Curran is set to fly back to the UK after a knee injury ruled him out of the remainder of Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL).
The Surrey seamer has been in action for the Sydney Sixers but will play no part in their final two regular season matches.
“The full extent of the injury is currently not known with Curran set to return to the UK in the coming days and undergo further assessment at home,” a statement by the Sixers said.
Curran had always been due to miss the BBL playoffs in order to travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to play for the Desert Vipers in the ILT20 but that stint - due to begin on January 21 - must now also be in doubt.
The England international’s winter has been a controversial one, with an altercation with an umpire ahead of the Sixers’s meeting with Hobart Hurricanes last month leading to a four-match ban.
Curran was charged with intimidating an umpire during a dispute over his practice run-up and failed with an appeal against his punishment before issuing an apology.
"I have had a lot of time to reflect on my actions and the incident," said Curran.
"My preparation for every fixture is deeply methodical and my focus is intense during the warm-up.
"Part of my preparation is to do a run through and gauge my run-up on that particular surface. I've done this before every match and for me it's part of my routine for every match.
"The interaction with umpire Muhammad Qureshi took me by surprise at a time when I was very focused on my pre-match routine. I didn't expect the stand-off that resulted.
"I deeply regret the way I reacted to it and the resultant impact for umpire Qureshi, the Sydney Sixers and myself personally."
