Joe Mennie suffers 'small fracture, brain bleed' after training mishap

Australian fast bowler Joe Mennie has been readmitted to hospital after he was diagnosed with a bleed on the brain following an incident during the Big Bash League (BBL) training on Monday.

The 28-year-old was struck in head by a straight drive from hard-hitting Sydney Sixers batsman Michael Lumb while preparing for the side's BBL semi-final clash against Brisbane Heat which is to be held today.

Mennie was initially given a concussion test before being taken to a hospital for further observation.

However, the pacer underwent scans yesterday which revealed that he suffered a minor fracture and a brain bleed.

Confirming the news, Cricket Australia chief medical officer John Orchard said, "After being struck on the head by a ball at training on Monday, Joe was transported to a hospital in Brisbane where he underwent a series of check-ups before being discharged later that evening."

While insisting that Mennie would not require to undergo any surgery, Orchard insisted that the paceman has been admitted to the hospital as a precautionary measure and that he would continue to be assessed by a neurosurgeon to determine best course of action.

"Joe was reviewed by a Cricket Australia doctor on Tuesday and had some scans performed that revealed a small fracture and associated minor brain bleed. Whilst this is a serious injury, Joe is feeling well. We believe that this is a stable injury and will not require surgery," he said.

Despite being cleared by the hospital, Mennie was left out of the Sixers line-up for the semi-final clash, cricket.com.au reported.

Mennie has so far made two appearances for the Sixers, who secured a finals berth following a thrilling three-wicket victory over the Melbourne Stars at the MCG on Saturday.

The spinner, who made his Test debut for Australia in November last year, joined the Sixers in April following three summers with the Hurricanes.