"It was lucky enough that we were able to pop it back in" - Mike Hesson on Reece Topley's injury against MI in IPL 2023
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) director of cricket Mike Hesson shed details of the injury Reece Topley sustained during the team's IPL 2023 opener against the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday, April 2.
The England pacer's tough luck with injuries continued as he appeared to dislocate his shoulder while fielding in the first innings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The left-arm pacer had begun the contest on a bright note, sending back fellow debutant Cameron Green with an inswinger. He was electric on the field as well, diving and saving runs for his team.
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However, one such dive ended Topley's involvement in the match as he had to be taken off the field by the medical team.
Confirming that Topley has been sent for scans to assess the shoulder dislocation, Hesson said on RCB Game Day:
"Unfortunately, Topley's knee dug into the ground and then he obviously landed on his shoulder and dislocated it. It was lucky enough that we were able to pop it back in."
Hesson continued:
"He is off having a scan at the moment. When it happens it is not a good thing, so we hope that the initial reports come back nicely and Reece can join us. If not, then obviously we will have to see what happens."
Topley had to miss the T20 World Cup 2022 due to an injury as well. He slipped on the boundary sponge at the Gabba in the buildup to the tournament and twisted his ankle.
He was roped in by RCB at the IPL 2023 mini-auction and found a place in the playing XI in the absence of Josh Hazlewood.
"I thought we held it together nicely with the ball and then the batting was exceptional too" - Mike Hesson
RCB stitched together an all-round performance to get their campaign off to a winning start.
The pacers reduced MI to 20-3 in the powerplay before Faf du Plessis and Co. chased down the eventual 172-run target with ease to mark their homecoming in style.
Praising the performance across all three departments, Hesson said:
"Look, it does not get much better than that, so the intensity we brought with the field, and with the ball was exceptional, and on a very good surface. The fact that we took early wickets in the powerplay is obviously something that we wanted to do from last year and then I thought we held it together nicely with the ball and then the batting was exceptional too."
RCB will now travel to Eden Gardens to play their first away contest against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday, April 6.
Will Reece Topley feature for RCB again this season? Let us know what you think.