No need for surgery on Chris Lynn's dislocated shoulder
Chris Lynn, the hard-hitting Australian batsman, will not have to go under the knife but must undergo ‘extensive rehabilitation’, after scans revealed signs of shoulder dislocation, Cricket Australia (CA) confirmed on Friday, 23 February.
Lynn, 27, sustained the injury during the ninth over of the New Zealand innings in the Trans-Tasman Tri-Series final earlier in the week. He put in a dive to prevent a single while fielding at short mid-wicket, but landed awkwardly on his right shoulder and immediately grimaced in pain and clutched his arm.
The Australian medical staff took him off the field and put his shoulder back in place, but Lynn underwent scans and was seen in a sling during a rain break in the final, which Australia won by 19 runs on the DLS method. Thankfully for Lynn, the latest injury is in his right shoulder, whereas in the past his left shoulder has needed extensive treatment.
More scans have since been conducted on the affected area, and Alex Kountouris, the CA Sports Science Sports Medicine Manager, said on Friday, “Chris has undergone scans which confirmed some of the expected signs of a shoulder dislocation including bleeding in the joint along with some cartilage and ligament damage.
“After consultation with a specialist, at this stage we have confirmed that Chris does not need to undergo stabilisation surgery on his shoulder. He will now undergo extensive rehabilitation to give us a better idea of how his shoulder will cope with return to normal function, with a view to being available to play in the IPL and the short-form series in the UK in June.
“We will have a better understanding of how possible this will be in a few weeks, once we know how he is responding to the rehabilitation.”
Despite a big reputation, especially in the shortest format, Lynn has only played a solitary one-day international and 10 Twenty20 Internationals since making his Australia debut in January 2014, mainly because of the time he has spent off the field due to injuries.