The Sydney Thunder's Daniel Sams will miss the remainder of the Big Bash League with a separate injury from the horror concussion that had threatened his season.
The allrounder was taken to hospital earlier this month after a mid-game collision with teammate Cameron Bancroft, who suffered a season-ending broken nose and fractured shoulderblade in the nasty head clash.
Sams began a mandatory 12-day concussion stand-down, flying back to Sydney from Perth during that time and officially clearing protocols this week.
He had shaken off concussion symptoms sufficiently to appear in the Thunder's final clash of the regular season against the Sydney Sixers at the SCG this Friday night.
But during Sams' concussion lay-off, the 32-year-old became hampered by a side injury suffered earlier in the same game during which he was concussed.
Sams had briefly left the field against the Perth Scorchers on January 3 with what has been diagnosed as a season-ending side strain.
"Daniel has demonstrated incredible resilience over the past week, and it's unfortunate to lose him for the remainder of the season," said Thunder general manager Trent Copeland.
"His contributions on and off the field have been invaluable, but his health and recovery must come first. The entire team is behind him, and we'll be supporting him every step of the way."
As recently as Monday night's win over the Scorchers, the Thunder were still formulating a return-to-play timeline for Sams, who has represented Australia in 10 Twenty20 international matches.
But last season's wooden spooners will now need to push for a fairytale BBL title without the veteran allrounder, a member of the team for the past seven summers.
A win over the Sixers on Friday would likely confirm a double chance in the finals for the Thunder, who have Chris Green, Dan Christian and Hugh Weibgen available as allrounders.
"I'm super disappointed not to be out there on the field, contributing to the success the boys are having and being part of the push for the title," Sams said.
"But I'm incredibly proud of this group and excited to see what they can achieve for the rest of the season."
