Jesse Ryder faces extended lay-off
The New Zealand batsman will not be considered for selection for the home series against Bangladesh as he continues to struggle with a lower stomach muscle injury
Cricinfo staff
22-Jan-2010
Jesse Ryder aggravated his abductor strain injury during the Champions Trophy in September 2009 • Getty Images
Jesse Ryder, the New Zealand batsman, will not be considered for selection for the home series against Bangladesh as he continues to struggle with a lower stomach muscle injury. Ryder had a recurrence of the injury while training, and there are serious doubts over his availability for New Zealand's home series against Australia as well as the ICC World Twenty20 in May.
"Unfortunately Jesse is not fit at the moment," the national selector Mark Greatbatch said. "He has had a bit of a relapse with his injury. He has still got quite a bit of work to do to get back and play club cricket and for Wellington."
Ryder recently took a significant step in his recovery from an injury that has troubled him since the Indian Premier League in March 2009, appearing for Wellington A in a practice game against the England Under-19 team. He has been sidelined since suffering an abductor strain that he aggravated during the Champions Trophy in South Africa.
New Zealand team physiotherapist Kate Stalker met Ryder in Christchurch, along with other New Zealand Cricket medical staff. "He has some abdominal pain again. He hasn't reinjured it to the same extent he had in the past, but he's certainly tweaked it," she told the New Zealand Herald. "Biomechanical faults take a long time to sort out. It's not an overnight fix."
Stalker's comments indicate that Ryder could easily be out of action for the next few months, but as she put it, there was a much bigger picture looming ahead in 13 months. "Is it more important to have him playing against Bangladesh or playing in the World Cup? ... my goal is the World Cup," she said.
"Anything else we can have players ready for, like the world Twenty20, that's fantastic, but our focus is the World Cup and I want the New Zealand selectors to be able to choose from every player we have to make that squad. It's really important for its longevity that we sort this out now".
New Zealand host Bangladesh for a Twenty20, three ODIs and a one-off Test in Hamilton during February.