"Had to call Carey over....": Aussie opener Khawaja breaks silence on back spasms during Perth Test

Brisbane [Australia], November 28 (ANI): Australian opener Usman Khawaja broke his silence for the first time after experiencing back spasms during the first Ashes Test at Perth, which prevented him from opening in both innings. His sole batting outing in the match was a single-digit score.

Ahead of the Test at Brisbane from December 4 onwards, the form and fitness of 38-year-old Khawaja are serious concerns. At Perth, he was not able to open in both innings and failed to score well in his only attempt with the bat at number four. He also dropped an easy catch at slips before leaving the field in England's second innings.

Speaking for the first time after his back concerns, Khawaja said he was on strong medicines for his back spasms before opening for his side and was warned by his physio that the "slightest movement" could make things worse for him, which led him into a dilemma of opening the batting or not.

"I knew the only way I could open for the team again, I had to go on the field," Khawaja explained as quoted by FOX Cricket.

"I had anti-inflammatories, real strong ones, was on really strong pain killers ... and I got myself to a place where I could actually field again. Before I went on, the physio said, 'You are feeling good now, but the slightest movement can make it three times, four times, 10 times worse, you should know that is a risk'."

"I was like, 'I either do that or I do not open for my country'," he added.

The 38-year-old left-hander, who will be 39 in December, worsened his back issues while leaping for the ball, which went sailing over the slip cordon, causing him to leave the field.

"As I landed, I was like, 'Oh no, I am gone here'," he recalled.

"I had to call (Australian wicketkeeper Alex) Carey over, and I was like, 'I cannot stand up'. I walked off the field, and I was pretty devastated," he added.

The opener revealed planning to get an epidural in his back so that he could bat in the second innings, but a 69-ball ton by Travis Head cancelled the visit to hospital.

"I am really glad that we got (the match) done that night, because the next day, I already had the radiology booked ... I was going to get an epidural in my back, so I can actually move somewhat. I had it booked in, ready to go, so if the team needed me, I was there again," he signed off.

Four days back, Aussie head coach Andrew McDonald confirmed that the medical staff will be looking into the injury, considering Khawaja has never suffered a back spasm in his 14-year-long career.

"There were discussions around further investigation to whether it was more serious than what we sort of first anticipated," McDonald said on Monday as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

"So we will work through that. We will get a squad together. We will step through everything we normally do. We get to camp in six days' time. It is a long way out, a lot of information to gather between now and then, and hopefully, Usman is fit and available for selection," he added.

Speaking further, McDonald said that his gut feel is that "it should be okay".

"But as I said, we will wait for that information to present," he added.

McDonald also dismissed concerns that this back spasm was a sign of age catching up with the southpaw. Khawaja had played 18 rounds of golf on three days leading upto the match, something he had done previously ahead of Test matches. But McDonald, just like Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg, said that it had never caused any problems for him before."

"These things can happen," McDonald said. "And I do not think you can join the dots to something around his age. I think it is just one of those things that's happened," he added.

Khawaja was named in the squad for the second Ashes Test at Brisbane, but it remains to be seen if he finds a place in the playing XI due to his fitness and form in question. In eight Tests this year, he has scored 463 runs in 14 innings at an average of 35.61, with a best score of 232*, his sole score above fifty runs.

Heading towards the Ashes, in Sheffield Shield for Queensland, he had posted scores of 69, 46 and 0 and 87 in three matches across four innings.

In eight matches at The Gabba at Brisbane, he has made 448 runs in 14 innings at an average of 37.33, with a century and two fifties and a best score of 174*. This is his home ground while playing for Queensland.

Australia squad for second Test: Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster. (ANI)

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