NCN ruled out of Shield opener

Western Australia will be without fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile for the start of their Sheffield Shield campaign, with the right-armer sidelined due to a shoulder injury.

Coulter-Nile missed the Alcohol.Think Again Warriors' final Matador BBQs One-Day Cup match on Wednesday after sustaining a left shoulder injury during a training session.

While he was fit enough to take part in light warm-up duties with his teammates before play, he has since been ruled out by the Warriors for 3-4 weeks, meaning he could potentially miss Western Australia's first three Shield games.

His injury is a blow to the Warriors, who are aiming to go one better this season after falling to the Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers in last year’s Shield final.

Watch: Coulter-Nile takes two in two against England

Coulter-Nile also missed the first two matches of Western Australia's Matador Cup campaign as he recovered from a hamstring injury picked up during last month's one-day series against England.

The quick, who has played 13 one-day internationals for Australia but has yet to make his Test debut, was included in a bumper 20-man training squad for a two-day red-ball camp in Sydney earlier this month ahead of next month's three-Test series against New Zealand.