Wright to miss start of domestic season

Damien Wright, the Tasmania fast bowler, is preparing for another shortened home season after discovering his ankle injury is more serious than first thought. Wright has had a reconstruction on his left ankle and cannot bowl for 10 to 12 weeks, although he might not make his state return until nearly halfway through the summer.

Tim Coyle, the Tasmania coach, said the Tigers would be extra careful with Wright, 32. "It could be Christmas, it could be before, but we certainly won't rush it, and then there has to be a spot for him," Coyle told the Mercury.

Wright aggravated the problem during his short stint at Glamorgan but when he returned home last month he expected to be ready for the start of the season in October. However, the surgeon detected torn ligaments and tendon damage that would delay Wright's comeback.

"The ankle problem was something that was very, very minor before I left, but unfortunately when I got over there it got progressively worse," Wright said. Although the injury will restrict Wright's domestic output, he believes the outlook would have been more worrying had he spent the winter at home.

"Being indoors here I would have gone through the motions a bit with the bowling and probably wouldn't have known to the full extent how bad it was until the season proper," he said. "To go to England and do some bowling has been a bit of a blessing."

Wright managed only seven of a possible 21 Pura Cup games over the past two summers thanks mainly to back stress fractures he sustained during the 2005 county season. He was instrumental in the Tigers' maiden Pura Cup triumph in March, when he collected eight wickets and made 67 and 47.