ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Young West Indies fast bowler, Alzarri Joseph, could be facing a lengthy injury layoff, as he prepares to undergo rehabilitation for a stress fracture of the back which forced him out of the recent New Zealand tour.
Quoting an unnamed source, the Observer newspaper here said the 21-year-old had been prohibited from bowling for the next six weeks, in order to lay the groundwork for the pending remedial work.
Much of the rehabilitation is expected to center around strength building, the report indicated.
“Taking everything into consideration, he could be out of action for several months,” the source was quoted as saying.
The Antiguan is now likely to miss upcoming home series against Sri Lanka starting in June and Bangladesh the following month.
Joseph pulled out of the one-day squad last December with what was then described as a “back strain” but subsequently determined to be stress stracture of his vertebrae.
While he has been a virtual fixture in the Caribbean side for the last 19 months, he has had limited action in recent months, playing only a three-day tour game on each of the tours of Zimbabwe and New Zealand.
His last Test came against England in Birmingham last August and he played only the last two One-Day Internationals of the five-match series on the same tour last September.
Joseph grabbed career-best figures of five for 56 in the fourth match at the Oval.
One of the stars of the title-winning 2016 Youth World Cup side, Joseph was fast-tracked into the West Indies, making his debut just months later against India.
He has taken 15 wickets in six Tests and 23 in 14 ODIs.
