Australia suffered a massive blow ahead of the World T20 in Bangladesh as their pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson was ruled out of the tournament with a toe infection, Cricket Australia (CA) said Sunday. Johnson has been replaced by Doug Bollinger.
CA chief medical officer Justin Paoloni said that Johnson had a cut on his right big toe after the third Test against South Africa which became infected when he returned home to Australia after the series.
"We have given Mitchell as long as we can but unfortunately his infection hasn't responded to the treatment as quickly as we had hoped for with swelling remaining in his toe and foot," Paoloni said in a statement.
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"It is difficult to say how quickly the infection will take to resolve and due to the high risk of infection recurrence with a return to bowling we feel it is in the best interests of Mitchell's health for him to continue to receive intensive treatment in Perth," he added.
National selector John Inverarity said: "Unfortunately Mitchell Johnson has been ruled out of the ICC World Twenty20. This is disappointing news as it was anticipated that Mitch would have a significant impact with his pace and menace.
"Doug Bollinger has been called into the squad to replace Mitchell. Doug has had significant experience in the sub-continent and in international white ball cricket and his ability to bowl with good pace was a factor in his selection."