Wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy suffered a concussion during Australia’s final group stage match against India last Saturday, and is keen to recover in time for her team’s semi-final clash against the West Indies Women on Thursday.
Her captain, Meg Lanning, confirmed that she had a ‘mild concussion’ after a collision with teammate Megan Schutt as the pair attempted to take a catch.
‘Hopefully she’s all right for us, come semi-finals time,’ said Lanning.
Healy has now offered her own update, indicating that she is on the recovery path. ‘Got a run in this morning and feeling really good,’ she tweeted. ‘Fingers crossed it keeps getting better. I have been told the black eye makes me look tough, so I’m rolling with it.’
New Zealand, Ireland and Pakistan will confirm that her batting in this tournament has made her look tough enough already, and Australia will be desperate to have her back in action.
Australian team doctor Pip Inge has outlined the process that Healy will be put through in an attempt to get her playing in their all-important semi-final clash against the West Indies on Thursday.
‘If all the ducks line up in a row, we have the perfect number of days to graduate her back,’ Dr Inge told cricket.com.au as Australia prepared to fly from Guyana to Antigua on Sunday.
‘We’re lucky we’re not playing today [Sunday], because that would not have given us enough time to graduate her back in. [Playing Saturday] means we’ve got just enough days to get it right, if things all line up.’
Cricket Australia’s concussion policy will see Healy undergo a series of tests – after at least 24 hours of rest – over the coming days as part of a staged return to play, explained Dr Inge.
‘We need to graduate people back into play to make sure the symptoms don’t get worse and we don’t put them at risk,’ she said. ‘You need to complete one step before you can move to the next step. Today’s about rest – being sensible with things, removing a lot of stimulus.
‘The next step is elevating your heart rate a little bit and being able to do a bit of activity like jumping on the [stationary] bike, or going for a bit of a run and making sure you don’t get a return of any symptoms.’
‘Then it’s doing some skill work, low-impact, non-contact stuff for Midge [Healy] – she’ll do things like throw-downs with coaches and some remedial keeping work.
‘Then, if that’s all okay, you go to a full training session, you face bowlers, you put yourself under pressure. And if that’s okay you get to play.’
Photo: Jan Kruger/IDI/Getty Images
