It has been confirmed today by Cricket Australia that Mitchell will unfortunately be sidelined from the field due to the finding of an early stage stress fracture in his lower back. The exact recovery time is not yet known and will be confirmed in the coming days, but it is suspected to be a prolonged period of a couple of months.

The injury comes after he was sent home from the UK at the beginning of Australia’s limited overs tour when he was reporting back pain. It is a frustrating time for Mitchell after having ankle surgery ealier this year and trying to secure his posistion in the starting line up.

“It is dissapointing to be injured again this year after overcoming my ankle problem, but i have full faith in the CA Medical staff and my body that i can regain 100% fitness and hopefully make a positive impact over the Aussie Summer” Mitchell said.

Mitchell joins other fast bowling stars James Pattinson, Pat Cummins and Jackson Bird on the sidelines who all have back injuries.

“After the age of 25, injury rates level out and like most other high intensity sports, increase once athletes are in their 30s. In the most recent Ashes series, Australian fast bowlers under the age of 25 (Pattinson, Starc, Faulkner bowled 239 overs, whilst English bowlers under the age of 25 (Finn & Woakes) bowled 49 overs for the entire series. This demonstrates our reliance on the younger bowlers at international level, which will be great for us in the future once they have physically matured in 2-3 years; they will not only be more resilient but will have the benefit of Test match cricket experience behind them.” Australian Physio Alex Kountouris said.

We wish Mitchell a speedy recovery!