RCB in action during IPL 2023© BCCI
Royal Challengers Bangalore suffered another injury blow as their pacer Reece Topley dislocated his right shoulder while fielding during their Indian Premier League match against Mumbai Indians here. RCB head coach Mike Hesson said Englishman Topley’s injury status will be known after the results of the scans come in. “Unfortunately his knee dug into the ground and he landed on his shoulder and dislocated it. It was lucky enough (for us) that the doctors were able to pop it back in,” Hesson told RCB’s YouTube channel after the team’s win on Sunday.
“He is off to have a scan at the moment. We hope that the initial reports come back nicely and Reece can join us. (But) if not then we will have to see what happens, but hopefully he is alright.” RCB made a terrific start to the season with a eight-wicket win over MI in front of their home fans at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here, but with Topley joining the list of injured players, the team management will have concerns going deeper into the tournament.
Topley, if sidelined for a longer duration, will join the likes of right-handed batter Rajat Patidar and fast bowler Josh Hazlewood on the bench. While Patidar, nursing a heel injury, is set to miss at least the first half of IPL, Hazlewood is likely to miss the first seven matches.
Talking about RCB’s dominant win over Mumbai Indians — their fourth consecutive victory since IPL 2021, Hesson said, “It does not get any better than that. The intensity with which we bowled and in the field was exceptional.
“We took early wickets in the powerplay which we wanted to do from last year, but we held it together with the ball and our batting was exceptional,” he said.
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