Caoimhe Bray sidelined after recurrence of back stress fracture

Sydney Sixers' teen sensation Caoimhe Bray is facing a stint on the sidelines after a re-emergence of a stress fracture in her back.

Bray was on Wednesday ruled out of Sixers' WBBL Challenger against Perth at North Sydney Oval on Thursday after scans showed a return of the stress injury. The 16-year-old is expected to miss several months of cricket, likely ending her season with both New South Wales and Sixers.

It comes after the multi-sports athlete also missed the end of last summer with the stress injury.

One of the most exciting prospects in Australian sport, Bray played as goalkeeper for the Young Matildas in 2024 before debuting for Sixers months later. She then became the youngest player to take a hat-trick in any of the main women's T20 leagues, doing so against Sydney Thunder last month.

But she was sent for scans this week, and they came back with bad news.

Regularly compared to Ellyse Perry given her ability across football and cricket, Bray has indicated she wanted to play both sports for as long as possible.

"I have to commit myself to cricket for the summer part of the season, and when winter comes around, that's when soccer comes back," she said last month. "So many people are asking the question: 'will you still be playing soccer or still be playing cricket'. People have their own opinions, like 'go into cricket, surely'.

"But so much can change. I have the three years signed with the Sixers, and so much can change over that period. If you don't know the future, neither do I. I don't know what it will be like in a few years. But I am going to try and stick to [doing both] as much as I can."

The winners of Thursday night's match face Hobart Hurricanes in Saturday's WBBL final at Bellerive Oval.