Perth - “Pop”. That was the deafening sound Dale Steyn heard when he felt an excruciating pain in his right shoulder that ultimately saw South Africa’s pace spearhead Australian tour come to a dramatic climax on Friday.
A visit to a local hospital later where the scans revealed the extent of the damage has left the 33-year-old contemplating at least six months on the sidelines. For an action-junkie like Steyn this is an incredibly long time, but he has resigned himself to his fate on this occasion unlike the last time when he injured his shoulder.
“I was bowling (on Friday) and felt this pop‚ or like a thud‚ in my shoulder‚” Steyn told Channel Nine in an interview broadcast. “There was a lot of pain and I had to go off the field. I went for an MRI and we’ve got a clean fracture in one of the bones in my shoulder. It’s not pretty.”
Steyn previously sat out three months with the same injury. It ruled him out of the majority of the last home summer series against England, which South Africa lost 2-1. Due to his importance to the Proteas’ cause, Steyn was though back on the field at the World T20 in India a few months later.
“That was a stress reaction‚ a very hairline‚ small little crack. It wasn’t as bad,” he said. “This time it’s more of a fracture; it’s kind of broken the whole bone.
“I’ll probably look to have surgery and put a plate in there and get the bone back together‚ or something like that. We’re probably looking at a minimum of six months.”
Due the recurrence of the injury here at the WACA, Steyn does not want to take any risks second time around.
“The last time it took about three months and I was up and running and able to play‚” he said. “But there’s a lot of cricket to be played and people want you to play. I probably didn’t have the full time to recover.
“I’ve been dealing with this thing for quite some time now‚ so I probably should have taken a little bit longer.
“But I was wanting to rush and get to the World T20 (in March). I wanted to go to the IPL (Indian Premier League). I’ll probably have to take the time this time and let it heal properly.”
Steyn’s primary objective to get back out a Test field should be that he only needs five more wickets to surpass Shaun Pollock’s all-time national record. His first opportunity to achieve this distinction would the South Africa’s tour to England next July.
Independent Media