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Klinger breaks arm in county game

WA hopeful he'll be fit for start of the summer

UPDATE

Western Australia are confident injured recruit Michael Klinger will be fit to play for the Warriors in the Matador BBQ's One-Day Cup in October.

Klinger suffered a broken arm on Thursday when he was struck by Derbyshire left-armer Mark Footitt playing in a 50-over match for his English county side Gloucestershire.

In a statement released on Friday afternoon, the Warriors said they were confident Klinger would be ready for the start of the season.

"We are obviously disappointed for Michael," Warriors General Manager of High Performance Ben Oliver said.

"Gloucestershire CCC will oversee his initial treatment however we are looking forward to helping Michael with his move across to Perth and return to full fitness once he is back from the UK.

"This type of injury typically requires 4-6 weeks so hopefully we will see Michael in WA colours throughout the One-Day Cup in October."

Klinger, a veteran of the Australian domestic scene, moved to Western Australia from South Australia this season.

EARLIER

Jimmy Anderson was warned to watch out for it, and now Australian Michael Klinger has suffered a broken arm after being hit by a short ball playing county cricket in England.

Klinger, the captain of Gloucestershire who this winter shocked the West End Redbacks by defecting to the Alcohol.Think Again Western Warriors, was struck on the arm during a one-day game against Derbyshire.

Klinger was hit on the left arm by Derby's 28-year-old 188cm left-arm quick Mark Footitt as Gloucestershire began their run chase.

After it became clear he was unable to continue at the crease, Klinger was sent for x-rays where the break was confirmed. 

Gloucester vice-captain and former New Zealand international Hamish Marshall told the club website: “Michael has broken his arm so he is pretty down at the moment.

“We weren’t at our best today, but the pressure was off in terms have already made the quarter-finals and playing Kent at Canterbury will be an exciting challenge for our group.”

Gloucester fell to defeat against Derby but the county remains in the UK's 50-over competition and now face a quarter-final against Kent without their skipper.

England bowler Anderson was infamously warned to "get ready for a broken f***ing arm" by Australia skipper Michael Clarke during the opening Test of last summer's Ashes series at the Gabba during a heated spell from pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson.

No further details on Klinger's injury were immediately available, but Warriors head coach Justin Langer will be keen to learn if his star recruit will be fit for the fast-approaching start of the Australian domestic season.

A seasoned campaigner, Klinger was recruited to fill the void left by the retirement of last season's Bupa Sheffield Shield player of the year Marcus North.

Klinger opted to leave South Australia after six years with the Redbacks when he was told he would no longer be among their first-choice batsmen.

The former Victoria Bushrangers batsman said at the time he still harboured ambitions to force his way into Australia's 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup side and the guaranteed spot in first-class cricket was his main motivation for accepting WA's two-year deal.

Meanwhile, Klinger is not the only Australian to be in injury strife this week.

Warning: graphic injury image below

The myFootDr Queensland Bulls bowler Luke Feldman faces a stint on the sidelines after copping a nasty injury during the state side's warm-up game against Australia this week.

The Australians had been preparing for their one-day international tri-series in Zimbabwe at Brisbane's National Cricket Centre and topped off their training with a 45-over practice match against the Bulls at Allan Border Field.

Opening the bowling, Feldman stuck out his right hand for an attempt at a caught-and-bowled dismissal of Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin on the fourth ball of his third over, but will wish he never bothered after his thumb was smashed by the fierce shot.

Feldman had surgery on Tuesday to repair the nasty compound dislocated thumb injury and the Bulls are confident he will be fit to return for the October start of the Matador BBQs One-Day Cup – to be played in part at Allan Border Field.

"The fact it was a dislocation rather than a fracture was a bonus," Queensland physiotherapist Martin Love said.

"It all settled down pretty neatly and we’re hopeful he will be right for the one-dayers at some stage in October."

Feldman's Bulls teammate Ben Cutting, who was selected in the Australia's touring party for Zimbabwe, posted a graphic image of the injury on social media.

"This is what happens when a caught and bowled goes horribly wrong," wrote Cutting.

"Broken, dislocated, protruding bone. Hoping @Luke_feldman bounces back faster then expected following surgery!"

Queensland Cricket said Feldman was expected to return to bowling in the Premier Grade competition with defending premiers Valley in about seven weeks.

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