Star allrounder Shane Watson has thrown another scare into the Australian camp ahead of the three-Test series with South Africa.
Watson appeared to injure himself while bowling his first over of the day for NSW before lunch on day two of their Sheffield Shield clash against Queensland in Brisbane.
The downcast 31-year-old stopped short after his sixth ball and then held a lengthy conversation with captain Michael Clarke.
He stayed on the field for the following over but, when spinner Stephen O’Keefe picked up the wicket of Joe Burns next ball, he left Allan Border Field and headed to the Blues dressing room.
It was hard to detect what the problem was but Watson has been troubled by a calf injury this year.
The scare comes after Ricky Ponting was withdrawn from Tasmania’s Shield match against South Australia on Friday due to hamstring soreness, Pat Cummins was ruled out of the summer with a back injury and all members of the Australian top order suffered Shield failures in the past 48 hours.
The first Test between Australia and South Africa begins in Brisbane on Friday.