Swepson faces uncertain future with rare neck injury

Mitchell Swepson's season is over with the leg-spin bowler facing an uncertain future after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in a neck vertebrae.

Swepson faces at least six weeks with no bowling meaning he will play no further part in the Queensland Bulls' Marsh Sheffield Shield or Marsh One-Day Cup campaigns, before being re-scanned and re-tested to give medicos a better understanding of the injury.

While no definitive longer-term forecasts have been made, Swepson is facing a potentially lengthy stint on the sidelines with one course of action potentially requiring a remodelling of his action to avoid further injury.

Such a development would be a bitter blow for the 27-year-old leg-spinner, who is in the form of his life after taking 23 scalps in three Shield matches at 21.17, including three five-wicket hauls.

While stress fractures are a relatively common injury in fast bowlers, they are typically in the lower, or lumbar, region of the spine. Swepson has a stress fracture in his C6 vertebrae at the base of his neck.

The 27-year-old bristled at the idea the injury would require any major adjustments to his bowling action, and is optimistically targeting a return to play in the closing stages of this COVID-disrupted summer that has domestic cricket being played into April.

"Not the ideal news to get with so much cricket left this season," Swepson, still the Shield competition's leading wicket-taker this summer, wrote on his social media.

"I'm staying positive and hoping that my neck heals fast allowing me to squeeze some cricket in before the end of this season.

"I definitely will not be remodelling my action, just a few minor tweaks to make sure I can keep spinning for plenty years to come."

Swepson first reported neck pain when he linked up with the Brisbane Heat for the closing stages of the KFC BBL|10 season after spending the Vodafone Test series against India as an unused squad member.

Despite reporting considerable pain, the T20 format's requirement for just four overs per match saw him press on, taking nine wickets in six games at 18 and an economy of 6.75 as he played a key role in the Heat's run into the finals, where they eventually finished third.

It was initially hoped a short break between the BBL and the resumption of state cricket would allow the neck issue to ease, but Swepson found no improvement on his return to training with the Bulls squad.

He was sent for a battery of scans and tests that eventually revealed the unusual stress fracture.

Martin Love, the former Test batsman who is now Queensland Cricket's Sports Science & Sports Medicine Manager, said he remained hopeful of a "relatively straightforward" recovery process.

"It is certainly not a common injury with spinners for instance, and so while Australian Cricket has a great deal of information about managing stress fractures in fast bowlers, it is not quite as clear cut in Mitch's case," Love said.

"We will work closely with Mitch and Cricket Australia to manage his recovery.

"We are encouraged by the successful returns of many bowlers who have had to deal with back stress fractures during their careers so hopefully this case proves relatively straightforward."

Swepson was included in Australia's Test squad for the now-cancelled tour of South Africa, and also played three games for Australia in the Dettol T20I Series against India in December, including taking 3-23 in a player-of-the-match performance in the third game.

In Swepson's absence, Shield table-toppers Queensland handed a first-class debut to left-arm spinner Mattthew Kuhnemann in last week's Shield win against Tasmania. They next face Western Australia at the Gabba from March 6, with Michael Neser again set to miss out as he recovers from a hamstring strain.