Glenn Maxwell is out of cricket for up to three months after breaking his leg in a freak accident at a friend’s 50th birthday party in Melbourne on Saturday night.
The seriousness of the injury meant it required surgery, and will rule Maxwell out of all cricket until at least January, when he may recover in time to play in the latter stages of the Big Bash League for the Melbourne Stars.
After attending a Stars event during the day, Maxwell went to the birthday party in the evening and was running around a multi-purpose backyard area with artificial turf with the person celebrating when both tripped and fell. Maxwell’s leg got trapped under the other person.
Sources with knowledge of events told The Age and Sydney Morning Herald that the man celebrating his 50th birthday was a former schoolteacher of Maxwell’s.
Glenn Maxwell has been sidelined with injury after an accident at a friend’s house. Credit: AP
Maxwell suffered a fracture to his left fibula and underwent surgery on Sunday afternoon. His leg has been reset, but Maxwell is expected to be out of action for between eight and 12 weeks.
Sources said the mishap took place early in the event and while Maxwell had had time for a couple of drinks, neither party was intoxicated.
“Glenn is in good spirits. It was an unfortunate accident, and we feel for Glenn in the circumstances given he was in great touch in his last few games,” national selection chair George Bailey said.
“Glenn is a critical part of our white-ball structure, and we will continue to support him through his recovery and rehabilitation.”
Maxwell’s injury follows a sequence of other bizarre injuries for prominent players. England batter Jonny Bairstow missed out on the Twenty20 World Cup after breaking his leg while playing golf in the UK. Josh Inglis, Australia’s back-up wicketkeeper, also missed the Cup after a golf club snapped before the event, causing serious injuries to his hand.
Sean Abbott has been called into the ODI squad to replace Maxwell, who up to this point had been tracking towards a possible return to the Test team in India early next year.
The Melbourne Stars, meanwhile, will need to find a new captain to lead them into the BBL, with Adam Zampa one option - Marcus Stoinis and Joe Burns are two of the other senior players in the squad.
After serving as a reserve player on the Test tour of Sri Lanka during the winter, Maxwell was set to take part in the looming 50-over series against England before looking at playing his first red ball matches in more than three years.
Two Sheffield Shield games for Victoria and an Australia A fixture against the touring South African team had all been plausible options for Maxwell ahead of the BBL.
However, the broken leg is set to keep him out of action until well into January, a long stint out that makes Maxwell’s place in Australia’s plans for the start of the Test series look decidedly shaky.
The squad to go to India is set to assemble for a pre-tour camp in late January, before an early February departure to play four Tests. Maxwell would need to make an extremely rapid recovery and be able to play some cricket before that camp.
Otherwise, his next most likely Australian call-up would be for the limited overs matches due to be played immediately after the Test matches. Having featured in pre-tournament advertising, Maxwell had shared his disappointment in Australia’s underwhelming World Cup campaign.
“We were so excited to get the tournament underway, it was the longest lead-in we’ve ever had, 15 games in all sorts of places and some pretty average conditions,” he said after Australia’s final game. “Once that 15th game was finished against India at the Gabba, the feeling was almost a sigh of relief, and now we can start our tournament.
“We were fresh, pumped up and ready to go, and they just had a player who was better on the day, and that can happen. The opposition has a say in things, and pretty much everything we did they counteracted in those first four overs and that can be all it takes in a T20 game.
“The disappointment is we haven’t been able to show how we feel like we’re playing as a group. We’ve missed the big moments too many times.”
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.