Mitchell Starc doubtful for West Indies series after suffering a stress fracture

Starc walks out, after picking up 24/3

Mitchell Starc won’t be able to add to his three first innings wickets in the first day-night Test against New Zealand, as stress fracture on his right foot, has ruled him out of bowling in the rest of the Test, reports cricket.com.au.

The left arm pacer enjoyed another fruitful day with the pink ball as he ended with figures of 24/3, as the Kiwis were bundled out for 202, after winning the toss and choosing to bat. But his day ended in agony as he was forced off the field.

Scans later revealed that he had an early stage stress fracture in the third metatarsal on his right foot, which has put a cloud over whether he will take part in the upcoming three-Test series against West Indies.

Bad news for Starc & Australia - he has an early stage stress fracture in the third metatarsal on his right foot #AUSvNZ

— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) November 27, 2015

Cricket Australia revealed that Starc, who left the field on crutches, will bat if necessary, but not bowl again in the Adelaide Test. Peter Siddle, who picked up his 200th Test wicket, was disappointed with the news of the 25-year-old’s injury.

“It’s obviously very disappointing,” Siddle said. "He was bowling so well and has been bowling well for a very long time.

"You never want one of your teammates to go down, especially so early on, (but) we've got enough bowling in our line-up anyway to take the 10 wickets required, so I think we'll be fine.

"But it's very disappointing for him. He has been on fire and I think he showed that again today – even with a bit of pain, he could get the job done and get those few breakthroughs for us in the middle order.

"We know Starcy – he'll be back. It's a nice little rest for him. It's not a bad thing for him at this time of the year. I think he will be back firing in no time at all."

While Siddle was upbeat about the prospect of Starc returning quickly, the same couldn’t be said of what Australian legend Glenn McGrath thought.

"When you've got a guy bowling that pace, (as) an attacking bowler, he picked up three wickets again today for not many runs, it's a huge loss for Australia, especially considering Mitchell Johnson retired last week," McGrath said.

"So fingers crossed it's not too bad, but he's going to be out for a while.”

James Pattinson, who was released from the squad for the third Test to go back and play for Victoria, is the front-runner to replace Starc should the left-armer be unable to play in the first Test against the West Indies, which begins in Hobart on December 10.