Healy suffers fresh injury setback, ruled out of WBBL opener

Australia captain Alyssa Healy will miss the Sydney Sixers' Weber WBBL|11 season opener on Sunday after returning from India with a thumb injury.

Healy copped a blow to her right thumb when she dropped a sharp chance off Jemimah Rodrigues while keeping up to fast bowler Kim Garth during Australia's ODI World Cup semi-final loss to hosts India.

The ball slammed into the end of Healy's thumb when it deflected off Rodrigues top edge as she attempted a late cut on 60 in the 24th over.

The right-hander went on to make 127 not out to anchor eventual champions India's world record run chase as they overhauled Australia's 338 with nine balls to spare.

Healy grimaced in pain as the ball ricocheted off her thumb to fine leg for a single but carried on keeping for the rest of the innings.

The Aussie wicketkeeper was sporting a splint when she appeared on her Willow Talk podcast alongside Brad Haddin and host Adam Peacock.

"It's WBBL time so it's not unlike me to have some sort of injury," Healy said.

"I copped a little knock in the semi-final which I'm sure a few people probably saw but we'll see what unfolds over the next four weeks."

The Sixers described Healy's injury as "minor", confirming on Thursday evening that she wouldn't make the trip to Perth to face the Scorchers on Sunday night.

She will be monitored at training next week and could play in the early stages of the season if she's able to tolerate wearing a splint while batting and wicketkeeping.

Healy had returned for the World Cup semi-final after missing Australia's final two games with a calf strain.

The 35-year-old has had frequent run-ins with injury in the twilight of her career and confirmed following her side's semi-final elimination that she wouldn't attempt to be part of the next ODI World Cup campaign in 2029.

Healy has also managed just five appearances for the Sixers in the past two WBBL seasons.

She began WBBL|10 in a moonboot after injuring her foot at the 2024 T20 World Cup in the UAE that ruled her out of Australia's semi-final loss to South Africa and missed the Sixers' opening two games before making a return.

But her season of struggle, where she scored 20 runs from four outings, was cut short when she picked up a knee injury later in the tournament.

Healy's 2023 WBBL season was even more unfortunate, ruled out of the tournament after the Sixers' first game when she suffered significant damage to her right index finger trying to separate a "rough and tumble" between her two Staffordshire bull terriers.

Having struggled to cover for her absence over the last two seasons, missing the finals on both occasions, the Sixers will be hoping Healy's latest stay on the sidelines is a brief one, especially given the form she unlocked during the World Cup with consecutive centuries.

With Healy entering the latter stages of her career, and given her torrid run with injuries, the club future proofed their list over the offseason by signing Tasmanian wicketkeeper-batter Emma Manix-Geeves from Hobart Hurricanes.

The 25-year-old comes with a promising WNCL record and has already delivered for the Sixers with a half-century in the T20 Spring Challenge.

The Sixers could also back Manix-Geeves to retain the gloves even when Healy returns, with the veteran keeper playing as a pure batter like she did in her last appearance for the club in 2025.

Fellow Aussie stars Ashleigh Garnder and Ellyse Perry will lead the charge for the Sixers as they kick off their WBBL|11 campaign at the WACA Ground on Sunday night.